Richard Li’s FWD Group falls in Hong Kong debut after HK$3.5 billion IPO

[HONG KONG] Billionaire Richard Li’s FWD Group Holdings declined in its trading debut in Hong Kong after raising HK$3.5 billion (S$569 million) in an initial public offering (IPO), a bid to capitalise on the city’s listing resurgence years after its initial try.

The insurer’s stock fell as much as 2.5 per cent on Monday (Jul 7) after selling 91.3 million shares at HK$38 apiece. The shares slipped in grey-market trading on Jul 4. The IPO values the company at more than US$6 billion, according to deal terms seen by Bloomberg. Mubadala Capital and Japan’s T&D Holdings were its cornerstone investors, according to a filing.

The debut comes after the tycoon, son of famed Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-shing, tried to take the company public in New York in 2021, which was abandoned after regulatory scrutiny. Subsequent efforts to list at home in Hong Kong were stalled as the city’s IPO entered a prolonged slump.

Now, with Hong Kong’s equity markets rebounding, Li is seizing a more favourable window to raise capital for the crown jewel of his business empire. Investors’ sentiment has been buoyed by a wave of multibillion-dollar deals, with IPOs and follow-on offerings raising US$37.4 billion so far in 2025 – the highest since the record-breaking year of 2021 and a sharp jump from US$5.1 billion during the same period last year.

The city’s stock benchmark, the Hang Seng Index, has risen about 20 per cent for the year. Insurers have been particularly hot lately, with shares of AIA Group and Prudential each rising at least 35 per cent since their April lows.

Richard Li, who founded the company in 2013, owns a 66.5 per cent stake in FWD through various corporate entities. His stake in FWD accounts for two-thirds of his US$6.1 billion net worth at the IPO price, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The insurer plans to use the proceeds to reduce debt, support growth and enhance its digital capabilities. BLOOMBERG