Headhunter seeking $62.6 million on ChiNext

Beijing Career International Co Ltd, a leading Chinese headhunter and human resources company, is seeking to list on the Growth Enterprises Market, or ChiNext, to fund its expansion plans.

According to its IPO prospectus, released by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the company hopes to raise 400 million yuan ($62.6 million) on the Nasdaq-style board on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, through the issue of up to 45 million shares.

Created in 1996, the Beijing-based firm's main activities include executive search, staff outsourcing, temporary staff provision and talent consulting.

It claims to have more than 1,000 recruitment consultants.

Career International previously planned an initial public offering in the United States. But it abandoned the process in 2010, partly because of a rise in US investors shorting Chinese stocks at the time.

In recent years, the company has taken stakes in or bought several mainland human resources services providers, including Shanghai-based Koncor, and Beijing's e-Town International Human Resource Co Ltd, Antal International, and Capstone Recruitment Ltd.

It now has more than 60 subsidiaries across China, Singapore and India.

Zhu Zhenghua, co-founder of a headhunting firm, told The Beijing News that consolidation in the human resources services sector, through mergers and acquisitions, has become commonplace as firms look to expand their geographical reach.

Career International's prospectus shows that last year its annual revenue increased to 663 million yuan from 499 million, while net profit rose to 49 million yuan from 29 million yuan.

During the first half of this year, revenue hit 327 million yuan and net profit was 32 million yuan. Flexible staffing activities contribute just under half of the company's total revenue, it said, while headhunting accounts for a third.

The document said its own staff costs are rising and competition to attract and retain high-caliber talent is growing. Its own staff costs rose to 79.35 percent of total expenditure from 76.49 percent in 2013, and jumped again to 80.14 percent in the first half of 2015.