DOMESTIC electric-car maker Nio Inc. may delay its planned Hong Kong listing to next year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The U.S.-traded firm filed for a secondary listing in Hong Kong in March, but isn’t likely to debut in the city before early 2022, the people said.

Nio has received queries from the Hong Kong stock exchange about aspects of its structure, including a user trust set up in 2019, the people said.

Widely seen as one of Tesla Inc.’s closest competitors in China, Nio said Wednesday last week that it plans to sell as much as US$2 billion in American depositary receipts.

The U.S. share sale allows the firm to raise money quickly given the delay in the Hong Kong listing plan, a different person said.

Deliberations are ongoing and Nio could still decide not to proceed with a Hong Kong listing, the people said.

Representatives for Nio and Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., operator of the Hong Kong stock exchange, declined to comment.

Attempting to become the first high-end electric-car player to come out of China, Nio calls itself a “user enterprise”— building a dedicated customer base with exclusive owners’ clubs and generating revenue from loyal fans with lifestyle products ranging from clothing to exercise equipment. (SD-Agencies)