People walk past a Wumei convenience store, part of the Wumart Stores retail company, in Beijing, May 31, 2018. (MARK SCHIEFELBEIN / AP)

Wumei Holdings Inc, the Chinese mainland retail group that owns one of the country’s biggest supermarket chains, is considering an initial public offering in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, people with knowledge about the matter said.

The Beijing-based company has held preliminary talks with potential advisers about a listing, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private

The Beijing-based company has held preliminary talks with potential advisers about a listing, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

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Wumei owns grocery operator Wumart Stores Inc as well as the local operations of home-improvement chain B&Q. Last month, Wumei completed the acquisition of an 80 percent stake in German wholesaler Metro AG’s Chinese unit, the people said. Wumei is still discussing which businesses would be included in any listing, according to the people.

Deliberations are an early stage and details of the fundraisings could still change, the people said. A representative from Wumei did not respond to requests for comment.

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An IPO by Wumei would add to the list of Chinese mainland companies that are looking to list in Hong Kong, including JD.com Inc. and NetEase Inc. Companies have raised only US$3.2 billion through IPOs in the financial hub this year, putting it in fifth place behind exchanges in the mainland and New York, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Wumart Group chairman Zhang Wenzhong founded the chain in 1994, according to its website. Wumart has become one of the biggest retailers in the mainland with more than 1,500 stores across the country, according to the site. Its annual revenue exceeded 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion). Wumart Stores was listed in Hong Kong until Wumei took the unit private in a deal completed in 2016.

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