By XU Shiqi
Midea Group is to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to fund overseas expansion. In recent years, overseas revenue accounted for 40 percent of Midea's total revenue.
The electrical appliance manufacturer has set ambitious goals, including exceeding US$40 billion in overseas sales by 2025, 10 percent of the international market, with a particular emphasis on Southeast Asia and North America.
Midea has approximately 200 subsidiaries worldwide, with 20 research and development centers and around 30,000 overseas employees.
About 20 years ago, Midea established a connection with the Hong Kong stock market through its 2004 acquisition of Hualing Holdings, but in 2018, it privatized the company and exited the Hong Kong capital market.
In April, Midea's lighting business resumed plans for an IPO on the ChiNext board, which had been on hold for a year. In July, its smart logistics unit, Anderson Alliance Polytron Technologies, initiated efforts to go public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
