La Chapelle issues 54 million A shares to fund its expansion

Chinese retailer Shanghai La Chapelle Fashion Co, backed by Hong Kong jeweller Chow Tai Fook, announced on Monday its plans to float 54.77 million A shares to fund a 1.64 billion yuan expansion plan.

According to local media, the A-share listing includes 27.4 million existing shares and won´t be minor to the 10 percent of its enlarged share capital.

It is noteworthy that the Shanghai-based apparel maker raised almost 3.2 billion yuan last September in an initial public offering in Hong Kong.

As explained by the fashion retailer in a note, its retail network, consumer base, business partners, the management and technological teams are all based on the mainland and there is room for the development of mass-market casual wear in China.

“Therefore, the dual listing of the company’s shares will help create more options to allow the company to provide employee incentives and to conduct mergers and acquisitions and restructuring through share-based payment,” it said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Now, the plan needs to be approved by the company’s shareholders and regulators. Mainland China has recently suspended all initial public offerings as part of its efforts to rein in a stock market crash, recalls the ‘South China Morning Post’.