Banu Maodu Hot Pot's Hong Kong IPO Prospectus Lapses, Listing Process Stalled
nashnova research
Banu Maodu Hotpot's Hong Kong listing application has lapsed after six months without progress, forcing China's top-ranked premium hotpot brand to refile if it still wants to go public.
Why did the prospectus "lapse"?
HKEX rules require a listing application to be approved or updated within six months; otherwise it expires automatically.
Banu filed on December 17, 2025. By June 17, 2026 — exactly six months later — nothing had moved, triggering the lapse.
This means → Banu was not rejected; the process simply stalled — possibly over unresolved regulatory feedback, possibly a deliberate slowdown by the company.
Where does Banu actually rank in the hotpot market?
Per Frost & Sullivan — a third-party research firm — Banu was the No. 1 brand by revenue in China's premium hotpot segment in 2024, holding roughly 3.1% market share.
In China's overall hotpot market, however, it ranked only third, with about 0.4% share.
In plain terms = top of the premium lane, a small player in the full market — the sector is extremely fragmented.
How fast has it been expanding?
Directly operated stores grew from 83 in early 2022 to 162 by December 2025 — nearly doubling in three years (+95.2%).
As of September 30, 2025, the total stood at 156 — all company-owned, with no franchise model.
This reflects a heavy-asset, tight-control strategy: slower growth than franchise-driven rivals, but stronger brand consistency.
What comes next?
If Banu still wants a Hong Kong listing, it must refile a new prospectus and restart the review process from scratch.
Its joint sponsors were CICC (中金公司) and CMB International (招銀國際); whether the sponsor team stays on will be an early signal of a relaunch.
This means → whether Banu refiles in the near term is the most direct indicator of its appetite and timeline for going public.
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