"Wei Xiaoli" ended the honeymoon period of US stocks

Author 丨 Cui Liwen

Responsible editor 丨 Cui Liwen

Editor 丨Zhu Jinbin

"Frankly speaking, when we first started our business, we didn't have much experience in capital operation, and the idea was very simple, that is, to aim at the opportunities for change in the automobile industry, to make future-oriented cars, to do a good job of the company itself, to do a good job in the product, and not to focus on capital operation, so there was no offshore listing structure in advance."

I clearly remember that in 2020, when interviewing a new force CEO from a traditional car company, he talked about the success of "Wei Xiaoli" to IPO in the United States, and he expressed the gaps and deficiencies very frankly.

Indeed, seizing opportunities and outlets before Sino-US relations are turbulent and the global economy is in turmoil is bound to be the most correct thing for the three new forces to do. They know that "car building, as long as it does not successfully achieve self-hematopoiesis, is, to some extent, a capital game." ”

It is precisely because of this that each has more and more abundant cash, as the bottom card for the development of multiple dimensions such as follow-up technology research and development, production and manufacturing, model promotion, brand marketing, and service replenishment.

Unexpectedly, however, the honeymoon period will eventually be short-lived.

In recent times, with the continuous news of various bearish news, the stock price and market value of "Wei Xiaoli" in the US stock market can only be described as a plummet. Compared with the record and the high points reached, the gap has widened.

What is more serious is that whether it is the financial reporting end or the sales side, it is difficult to form an equal proportion of positive feedback when it comes to a report card of how to improve.

Perhaps, the general trend has reached the point where it is impossible to reverse it on its own.

Look behind the "pre-delisting"

At the beginning of this paragraph, it must first be explained that the current encounter of "Wei Xiaoli" is not unique. As an argument, on May 4, local time, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) added 88 Chinese stocks to the "pre-delisting" list again.

The new additions include: Huaneng International, China Aluminum, Bilibili, Pinduoduo, 36Kr, Tencent Music, Ctrip, Xiaopeng, JD.com, China Mobile, NetEase, Weilai, PetroChina, Kexing Biological, Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, etc.

As early as April 21, Beijing time, ideals ahead of Weilai and Xiaopeng, together with several Chinese-listed companies in the fifth batch, were included in the "pre-delisting" list, and this time it is the sixth batch since 2022.

As for the root cause, the official explanation given by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is: "It is not possible to check the audit papers of these companies." It also requires all of the above companies to file a defense by May 25.

In fact, according to the details of the Foreign Company Accountability Act issued late last year, a foreign listed company has the right to delist from the exchange if it fails to submit the report required by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for three consecutive years.

However, these companies may provide evidence to the SEC before the application deadline to prove that they are not eligible for delisting. And there are 15 working days to appeal the SEC's decision.

In this regard, after being included in the list of "pre-delisting", Weilai and Ideal also responded at the first time. The central idea summarized is that it will actively cooperate with relevant investigations, submit the required materials, continue to comply with applicable laws and regulations, and strive to maintain its listing status.

Similarly, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, also at a regular press conference, said, "China's securities regulatory authorities have communicated with the US securities regulatory authorities on this, and The inclusion of Chinese enterprises in the relevant lists is a step for the US side to implement relevant domestic laws, and does not represent the delisting of relevant enterprises. ”

The implication is that the current situation may not be as bad as imagined, and there is still a lot of room for reversal. However, as a bystander, I still want to say that since the "pre-delisting" has occurred, it is more like a signal that it is enough to arouse vigilance, and the us capital market's censorship standards for Chinese stock companies are becoming more and more stringent, which is an indisputable fact.

And in the future, I believe that no one can lay an absolute guarantee, and the situation of the entire market will gradually improve, rather than continue to deteriorate. Therefore, it is reasonable to find new plates to share the risk.

In particular, similar to "Wei Xiaoli", at this stage, there is still a need for external supplies to help the development of new forces to build cars, and there is no room for mistakes. Fortunately, it is gratifying that after realizing the deviation of the momentum, the three have been laid out in advance to leave a "retreat" for themselves.

The new "haven"

In fact, only based on the time node as the criterion, under the leadership of Li Bin, Weilai, which was already personally located on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2018, undoubtedly made relevant preparations earlier than ideal and Xiaopeng, and the latter two went to the United States in July 2020 and August 2020 respectively.

However, in the past year, unlike Xiaopeng and Ideal, which have successively achieved "secondary listing" in Hong Kong stocks and taken the lead in raising more funds, Weilai has become a relatively backward existence among the three.

As for the reasons, they are manifold. However, the final result, there are still not too many surprises, Beijing time on March 10, it was officially located on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange began to be listed for trading.

At the cloud bell ringing ceremony, Li Bin said with a little excitement: "Weilai's successful listing in Hong Kong is inseparable from the trust of users, the efforts of employees and the support of partners. At present, the automotive industry is in an era of rapid change, and we will continue to use technological innovation to continue to bring users products and experiences that exceed expectations, and create long-term returns for investors. ”

Standing in another dimension, he also understands that the realization of the "double major listing" of Hong Kong stocks is precisely the "retreat" mentioned at the end of the previous paragraph.

After all, once the US stock market has a huge fluctuation again, even if it must face the worst outcome one day, it can be considered to leave room for self-preservation as much as possible. Similarly, I believe that in the cognition of ideals and Xiaopeng, in addition to harvesting richer financing channels, more considerations are also based on this.

With more and more Chinese companies included in the list of "pre-delisting" of US stocks, it has become a general trend to return to Hong Kong for listing. Zhihu, Mingchuang Premium, B Station... Familiar names have appeared on the road of ringing the bell one after another.

What is more interesting is that just yesterday, WEIlai officials suddenly announced that it has obtained a conditional listing qualification letter for the secondary listing of the main board from the Singapore Exchange and will issue listing documents this month.

And its official said, "This time will adopt the method of introducing the listing, and will not involve the issuance of new shares and fundraising." The Company's Class A shares listed on the SGX may be fully convertible from its American Depositary Shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange. ”

Obviously, after the Hong Kong stock market, Weilai is seeking another "insurance" for itself.

And just one day after being included in the "pre-delisting" list of US stocks, this news was released, whether by coincidence or deliberate, it is enough to be regarded as a small counterattack of the new force to build a car, and the subtext seems to say: "Although the honeymoon period is over, I am not completely inseparable from you." ”

To be sure, this game of capital is still playing against each other.