Two and a half years after its listing, CHABAIDAO has suddenly been hit with a regulatory trading suspension.

On the morning of October 13, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange issued a notice stating that, pursuant to Section 8(1) of the Securities and Futures (Stock Market Listing) Rules, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange shall, at the direction of the Securities and Futures Commission, suspend trading in shares of CHABAIDAO from 9:00 a.m. that day.

Unlike listed companies that voluntarily apply for a trading halt while planning major transactions or awaiting disclosure of inside information, this suspension was directly ordered by the Hong Kong SFC.

As of press time, CHABAIDAO and the Hong Kong SFC have not disclosed the specific reasons, nor have they announced any resumption arrangements.

Under relevant Hong Kong regulations, the SFC may order a trading halt in four types of situations: where listing documents or announcements contain material false, incomplete or misleading information; where suspending trading is necessary to maintain a fair and orderly securities market; where it is needed to protect investors or the public interest; and where a company has failed to comply with conditions imposed upon its previous resumption of trading.

The Hong Kong SFC has recently exercised this regulatory power twice, involving different issues such as fund flows of listed companies, information disclosure and corporate governance.

On September 10, Cloudbreak Pharma was suspended from trading over suspected artificial manipulation of its IPO; on September 25, Silver Grant International was ordered by the SFC to halt trading because more than HK$1 billion in loan funds were suspected of flowing to its former major shareholder and related parties.

On April 23, 2024, CHABAIDAO listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at HK$17.50 per share, issuing approximately 148 million H shares and raising a total of about HK$2.586 billion, making it one of the larger consumer sector IPOs in the Hong Kong market at the time.

More than two years after listing, CHABAIDAO's operating scale continues to expand. In the first half of 2026, the company achieved operating revenue of RMB 2.655 billion, up 6.2% year on year; net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 336 million, up 3.2% year on year. As of the end of June, CHABAIDAO had 8,863 stores globally, up 4.7% year on year, including 8,791 stores in mainland China and 72 overseas stores.

Beyond store expansion, CHABAIDAO has also begun to extend into categories such as coffee. By the end of the first half, more than 2,700 stores had been equipped with freshly ground coffee machines, completing ahead of schedule its original full-year target of covering 2,000 stores.

Although revenue and profit have continued to grow, CHABAIDAO's performance in the capital market has remained sluggish. As of the close on October 12, CHABAIDAO's share price was only HK$4.035, down about 77% from its issue price, with its total market value shrinking to about HK$5.96 billion.