image credit: Bamboo Works
Key Takeaways:
Slender West Lake Culture and Tourism turned over more than $20 million in revenue last year, most of it from sightseeing boat trips
Helmed by a tour guide turned entrepreneur, the firm operates a fleet of more than 200 boats, but could struggle to expand beyond its home base
Embarking from a scenic lake and ancient canal network in eastern China, a boat trip business is inviting investors on board for a journey to the Hong Kong stock market.
Famed for its picturesque weeping willows, the winding waterway in Yangzhou is a popular destination for cultural tourism, framed by bridges, temples and pavilions built by wealthy merchants during the 18th century.
The name of the tourist spot, Slender West Lake, is also on the masthead of the waterborne leisure company that now wants to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, seeking funds to expand its fleet and services.
At the helm of Jiangsu Slender West Lake Culture and Tourism Co. Ltd. is an entrepreneur, Xu Sunmei, who started out as a tourist guide in the area before building her company into a business consistently turning over more than 100 million yuan a year ($15 million).
In that time she made a splash by forming a female crew who rowed across the waters in traditional Yuloh boats, using body-propelled sculling oars. Her current challenge is to steer the company safely to the Hong Kong market.
This is not the firm's first attempt to dock in the equity market. It first listed on Beijing's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) in 2017, and filed an unsuccessful Hong Kong application last September, before making its second attempt this year.
Starting out as a junior tour guide, Xu worked her way up to general manager in 2011 and was ...
