EXPRESS delivery giant ZTO Express Cayman Inc. is looking to raise as much as HK$12 billion (US$1.56 billion) in its Hong Kong second listing.

ZTO Express is selling 45 million shares in the offering, it said in a U.S. filing Tuesday. It has set a maximum price of HK$268 apiece for the portion of the deal being marketed to retail investors, which represents a 10 percent premium to Tuesday’s closing price of US$31.37.

Its New York-traded American Depositary Shares have gained 34 percent this year.

The share sale comes hot on the heels of Yum China Holdings Inc., China’s largest restaurant company, raising US$2.2 billion in a Hong Kong second listing.

Chinese mainland firms listed in the United States are increasingly looking to establish a trading foothold in Hong Kong as relations between the two countries come under significant strain.

The trend is a boon to Hong Kong, which is riding a wave of investor enthusiasm for first-time share sales.

Almost US$10 billion has been raised from the second listings of Yum China, JD.com Inc. and NetEase Inc. this year, bringing the total haul from initial share sales to US$22.7 billion.

Hong Kong is set to get a further boost from the mega IPO of Jack Ma’s Ant Group, which could raise about US$30 billion through a dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

ZTO Express is one of China’s leading express delivery companies, with a 21.5 percent market share, according to its website. Its net income grew 6.5 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier to 1.45 billion yuan (US$214 million) as parcel volume grew thanks to people buying more goods online.

The company plans to price the Hong Kong offering Sept. 22 and start trading on the city’s stock exchange Sept. 29.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is the sole sponsor for the ZTO Express listing. (SD-Agencies)