News / Jin Jiang Shipping IPO fails to hit target, but shares rise

Photo: VesselFinder

Shanghai Jin Jiang Shipping (JJ Shipping), the liner subsidiary of Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange today after an IPO that failed to raise its targeted funds.

CNY2.18bn ($308m) was raised, with the net proceeds being $290.68m after deducting issuance expenses – $136.1m below target.

The funds will go towards ordering more new ships and containers and digitalisation – JJ Shipping’s prospectus outlined plans to deploy newbuildings to its coastal shipping subsidiary, Shanghai Haihua Shipping.

JJ Shipping, now ranked 33rd among liner operators, operates a total capacity of 44,150 teu across 21 owned vessels and 26 chartered ships.

In 2022, the company’s net profit climbed 49% year on year, to $265.97m, but in the first nine months of this year, as the container freight market corrected, it fell 53% year on year, to $96.84m.

JJ Shipping’s stock price closed at CNY17.84 ($2.52) today, nearly 59% higher than the IPO price of CNY 11.25 ($1.59), giving the company a market capitalisation of over CNY2.31bn ($325.95m).

Prior to the IPO, which saw 194.12m shares issued, SIPG held 98% of JJ Shipping’s shares and retains an 85% stake.

JJ Shipping announced its intention to list in 2021, when container freight rates moved towards historical peaks amid Covid-19-related logistical bottlenecks. It persevered with the listing even though the boom petered out in mid-2022.

While Zim, Ningbo Ocean Shipping and BAL Container Line’s parent, LC Logistics, also went public, others, such as China United Lines, refrained as the freight market weakened.