KE Holdings, China’s biggest housing broker, is planning a Hong Kong stock market listing and has hired Goldman Sachs to lead a float, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Beijing-based KE raised US$2.1 billion in its New York initial public offering (IPO) last year, making it the second-largest U.S. listing for a Chinese company at the time. KE, which matches buyers and sellers of real estate, is now exploring raising a similar sum in a dual-primary listing in Hong Kong, said the sources. The listing could happen as soon as the end of the year, said the source. KE is one of the so-called “platform” companies in China that control vast amounts of data and are now being subjected to an unprecedented regulatory action by regulators. KE’s planned listing shows that such companies are still exploring fundraising opportunities in Hong Kong, despite a dour outlook for their shares in the current regulatory environment. KE denied it was seeking a Hong Kong listing. “We have no imminent plan for a Hong Kong listing or any share sale,” it said. A growing number of New York-listed Chinese firms have already either wholly or partially reduced their exposure to U.S. bourses by going private or returning to stock markets closer to home via second listings. Investment banks other than Goldman that worked on KE’s New York IPO are pitching for roles in the Hong Kong listing, said a separate person with direct knowledge. Reuters reported in May that China’s market regulator had begun a probe into suspected anti-competitive practices by KE, investigating whether the company forced real estate developers to list housing information only on its platforms. China has also stepped up its scrutiny of the real estate market. KE warned last month that its third-quarter net revenue could drop by up to nearly 30 percent due to tighter market regulation. (SD-Agencies) | 