Intra-Asian specialist TS Lines has begun trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with its shares starting to rally.
The company closed its IPO last week with its shares priced at HKD $4.18 ($0.54) — below the upper end of its target price of HKD $4.50.
The share began trading on 1 November and has since edged up to HKD $4.65 today.
Net proceeds from the IPO amounted to HKD 940m ($121m) — HKD 185m short of the HKD 1.125bn that the Hong Kong-based carrier had hoped to raise.
The stock is trading at around a 40% discount to its adjusted book value compared with the average discount of 15% for its main publicly listed peers, according to Linerlytica estimates.
Ambition
Nevertheless, the listing realises a long-held ambition for TS Lines, which has been seeking to float in Hong Kong for several years.
The company plans to use HKD $448m of the funds raised to finance two 7,000-teu container ships it ordered at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding in June for delivery in 2026 and 2027.
It will deploy the pair in the Asia-Indian subcontinent, Asia-Oceania or Middle East markets.
Around 25% of funds, amounting to HKD 224m, will be used for vessel chartering contracts and 15% for container leasing.
The rest of the funds will be used for working capital.
TS Lines has ordered six container ships this year, including two 4,300-teu newbuildings costing $60m each, ordered in September at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding.
In June, the company contracted Shanghai Waigaoqiao to build two methanol-ready 14,000-teu ships as well as the two 7,000-teu newbuildings, with options for two additional vessels of each type.
The yard is due to deliver the larger boxships in 2028.
TS Lines is the world’s 20th-largest liner company, with a fleet capacity of 101,503 teu and a 64,000-teu orderbook, according to Alphaliner.
