On 17 May, Super Hi International, the restaurant operator of Haidilao’s overseas branches, announced that it had completed its IPO and was now listed on NASDAQ under the ticker HDL. The share price surged 48% at the start of trading and closed at 22.29 USD per share, 14% above launch. It comes less than 18 months after Super Hi was spun off and listed in Hong Kong.
Haidilao began its overseas operations in 2012 and spun the business off as Super Hi in 2022. Super Hi currently operates 119 restaurants in 13 countries over 4 continents. Haidilao’s overseas presence expanded by 55.4% in terms of restaurant numbers in 3 years, and its operating profit margin grew from 0.2% in 2022 to 6.3% in 2023. It was also revealed that Super Hi had secretly submitted its application for IPO at NASDAQ to SEC as early as 15 December 2023. Super Hi’s share prices in Hong Kong also rose 2.48% to 17.36 HKD (2.23 USD) on 17 May.
This marks the fourth IPO from Haidilao founders, husband and wife team Daniel Zhang Yong and Shu Ping. Before Super Hi’s Hong Kong IPO, the domestic operator Haidilao and hot pot ingredients supplier Yihai International were both listed in Hong Kong. Interestingly, Super Hi after the spin-off was directly controlled by Zhang and Shu, instead of through Haidilao. Shu was also recently put in charge of Super Hi.
Having entertained 26.70 million guests in 2023 and with 4.30 million members, the overseas operations of Haidilao have seen strong growth with its centre of focus in Southeast Asia, followed by the US. With the latest listing in the US, Haidilao aims to expand further abroad and build an international brand. Despite share prices dipping slightly on Monday, it would seem the market is watching Super Hi closely.
