CK Hutchison denies shelving Watsons IPO as $30bn dual listing stays undecided

CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. denied on November 12 that it has suspended plans to list its health and beauty retail arm, AS Watson Group, after reports that the long-awaited share sale had been shelved sent its shares down more than 3% that day, below HK$70. The company said no decision has been made on the listing, repeating the position it has held since the summer.

Valued at about $30 billion; originally expected in the second quarter

The AS Watson listing is one of the most closely watched deals in Hong Kong. The plan is for a dual listing in Hong Kong and London that would value the retailer at about $30 billion (about HK$234 billion) and raise about $2 billion for CK Hutchison; Goldman Sachs and UBS have been hired to work on it. The listing was first expected as early as the second quarter of this year, but in early October it emerged that the dual listing had been pushed back to 2027, mainly because of Chinese regulatory procedures: the application has been cleared by the China Securities Regulatory Commission but still needs approval from China's cybersecurity regulator. Temasek, which holds about 25 percent of AS Watson, is understood to be seeking a partial selldown alongside the offering.

Volatile markets and weak mainland consumption cloud the timetable

Dow Jones reported on November 11, citing people familiar with the matter, that CK Hutchison had delayed the planned dual listing because of volatile market conditions and might try again in 2027. AS Watson, which marked its 185th anniversary this year, operates more than 17,000 retail stores across 31 markets; retail revenue reached HK$107.7 billion in the first half of 2026, up 9 percent year on year. CK Hutchison said in July that its board had made no decision on an IPO of AS Watson or its timing.

(Sources: Bloomberg; Dow Jones; Dim Sum Daily.)