Bubble Tea Makers Revive IPO Ambitions With China Said to Be Softening Stance

  • Guming’s approval to list in HK is ‘positive sign’: Linklaters
  • Shift in policy would also help lift Hong Kong’s IPO market

A matcha tea inside a Chabaidao bubble tea store.

Photographer: Raul Ariano/Bloomberg
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China’s bubble-tea makers are reviving plans for initial public offerings, encouraged by signs that Beijing is loosening its grip on the market and sentiment is improving after a disappointing debut by one of the industry’s biggest chains earlier this year.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission’s recent approval of a Hong Kong IPO by Guming Holdings, almost a year after the tea maker first submitted pre-listing documents, has helped bring matters to a boil. Now, other industry players will be vying to get the green light to list offshore, people familiar with the developments said.