By P.R. Venkat
Tencent-backed J&T Global Express is the latest logistics-related company seeking to tap investors' appetite in Hong Kong with a 3.92 billion Hong Kong dollar ($ 500.80 million) share offering. The logistics service company plans to sell 326.55 million shares at HK$ 12 each in an initial public offering, J&T Global said Monday. This follows last month's filing for a public offering by Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, Alibaba Group's e-commerce logistics arm. J&T Global, which started operations in 2015 in Indonesia, now provides express delivery services in 13 nations, including countries in Southeast Asia and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Brazil, and Egypt. The company's revenue for the six months ended June was US$ 4.03 billion, growing 18.5% compared with the same period a year earlier. Apart from Tencent, some of its pre-IPO investors include private-equity firms Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital and Temasek, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. J&T Global expects shares to start trading on the Hong Kong exchange on Oct. 27. The company plans to use the IPO's proceeds to expand its logistics networks, including tapping new markets, as well as research and development. Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, and CICC are among the banks acting as joint sponsors for the IPO. Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com