Crypto Mining Firm’s IPO Application on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) Lapses
Bitmain, the cryptocurrency mining equipment maker’s application for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) has officially expired which means no such transactions are going through any time soon.
An update on the HKEX’s website mentioned that Bitmain’s case has been transferred to a group of “inactive” applications as is currently labeled as lapsed. The update comes six months after the company filed the prospectus back on September 26.
If Bitmain intends to pursue a listing, it can re-file the application with updated financial records beyond the documents presented during the initial filing.
A listing rule from HKEX states that the last financial period reported on by the reporting accountants for a new applicant can’t have ended before six months from when the documents are listed. Bitmain’s last public filing extends till June 30, 2018.
The company’s application had drawn widespread attention last fall as it revealed figures corresponding to its surprising profit growth over the past couple years. Here’s an example to illustrate the picture better – The mining giant made a net profit of $1 billion in 2017, and it had made almost the same amount in profit by the first half of 2018.
Yes, there was rapid growth experienced in the bottom line, only testifying to the surge in the cryptocurrency market from 2017 – still HKEX wasn’t entirely convinced. It remained reluctant to approve applications from Bitmain, Eband, and Canaan Creative because it felt threatened by the industry’s volatility.
One couldn’t say these fears were unfounded as there was a market slump in 2018 and Bitmain went onto lose $500 million in the third quarter of 2018.
It is yet to be seen whether Bitmain is attempting again to go public anytime soon. The company came out with a statement on Tuesday, confirming the expiration of its listing application with HKex in September 2018 and promised to restart the listing application work at a more convenient time in the future.
Management Shake-up
The same announcement also stated that company CEOs Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan have resigned as co-CEOs. They will be succeeded by Hiachao Wang, who had been working as director of product engineering thus far.
Bitmain would do good to try going public again as it would otherwise have to shell out upwards of $700 million to its venture capital investors.
Andrej Burcev got into Crypto while completing his Bachelor of Science at Kingston University in London. Andrej now works as Senior Software Engineer. He is currently collaborating and writing articles for TheDailyCoins with his focus in innovative technology and its cultural and social influence.
