Chinese technology giant Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) will raise at least $3 billion in a Hong Kong secondary listing later in March.
Baidu, which is listed in the U.S. on the NASDAQ stock exchange, plans to issue 4% of its shares. The book-building process could begin as early as Friday with the final pricing of the shares to be announced toward the end of next week.
Baidu, which is headquartered in Beijing and focuses on Internet-related services and artificial intelligence, joins a growing list of Chinese technology firms that are currently listed in the U.S. and have done secondary offerings in Hong Kong. They include Alibaba, JD.com and NetEase.
These listings have transformed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange into an attractive place for Chinese technology companies to raise capital.
Baidu could also be taking advantage of the 128% rise in its share price over the past 12 months in order to raise capital. While it has traditionally been known for its search and advertising business, Baidu has more recently looked to diversify.
The company has been focusing on its new autonomous car business. Baidu has set up a standalone electric vehicle business with automaker Geely and is also raising money for a biotechnology company and a new artificial intelligence semiconductor company.
