Two Chinese tech firms with major African businesses are turning to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in fresh capital, in the latest test of whether global investors see the continent as a source of scalable growth.
Shenzhen-based Transsion — whose Tecno, Infinix, and itel phones are top sellers across Africa — has cleared a regulatory hurdle for a Hong Kong listing. Separately, PalmPay, the fintech company launched in Nigeria with backing from Transsion and China’s NetEase, is seeking about $200 million ahead of a potential Hong Kong IPO that could value it at more than $1 billion. Hong Kong gives both companies access to international investors and deeper capital markets while keeping them close to their Chinese ownership base.