China’s leading internet-famous bubble tea brand Sexy Tea is planning a Hong Kong IPO as early as this year with the company having selected China International Capital and Morgan Stanley to oversee the listing, according to a Thursday report from Bloomberg. However, the banks involved and the precise listing schedule may change, the report cited sources as saying. While rival bubble tea brands Mixue, GoodMe, and ChaBaiDao have rushed to open new stores and pursue IPOs in recent months, Hunan-based Sexy Tea has been more careful about franchising and expanding to more Chinese cities. The company operated more than 500 stores as of October 2023, its website shows. [Bloomberg]

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