Billionaire Richard Li’s FWD Group Holdings Ltd. rose in its Hong Kong trading debut, reversing earlier declines, after an initial public offering that raised HK$3.5 billion ($442 million).
The insurer’s stock climbed 1.1% to HK$38.40 on Monday, reversing a drop of as steep as 2.5%.
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 market entered a prolonged slump.
Now, with Hong Kong’s equity markets rebounding, Li is seizing a more favorable 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 $37.4 billion so far in 2025 — the highest since the record-breaking year of 2021 and a sharp jump from $5.1 billion during the same period last year.
“It’s been a long journey,” FWD Chief Executive Officer Huynh Thanh Phong said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “Hong Kong, as you can see, is back in a big way, and we’re extremely happy to be part of that comeback story post-COVID.”
The city’s stock benchmark, the Hang Seng Index, has risen about 20% for the year. Insurers have been particularly hot lately, with shares of AIA Group Ltd. and Prudential Plc each rising since their April lows.
Criss Wang, an analyst who writes on the Smartkarma platform, said that although FWD’s stock may appear cheap based on book ratios, concerns about the company’s potential impairment risks justify FWD shares trading at lower valuations than local peers.
Richard Li, who founded the company in 2013, owns a 66.5% stake in FWD through various corporate entities. His stake in FWD accounts for two-thirds of his $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.
Top photograph: Richard Li, left, attends FWD Group’s listing ceremony at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 7, 2025. Photo credit: Lam Yik/Bloomberg
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