Geely’s Zeekr gears up for US IPO, but China influence remains a concern

Zeekr, the luxury electric vehicle brand under China’s Geely, is gearing up to list its shares publicly in the U.S., according to a regulatory filing submitted Thursday. The filing shows widening losses between the first halves of 2023 and 2022, and describes the risk of Beijing influencing Zeekr’s business decisions.

The move comes almost a year after Zeekr announced it had confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering. If Zeekr’s IPO goes through, it’ll be the first major Chinese listing in the country in nearly two years, following China’s effective ban of foreign IPOs. In August 2022, Washington and Beijing struck a deal that lowers the likelihood of delisting for more than 200 Chinese firms listed on New York exchanges by allowing U.S. officials to review audit documents of Chinese businesses that trade in the U.S.

Still, one of Zeekr’s main risk factors is China’s influence.