Chinese Hotpot Chain Files for Hong Kong IPO

China’s largest spicy hotpot restaurant chain has filed for a Hong Kong IPO, as it seeks to follow other catering firms like Haidilao and Laowang in tapping stock market capital.

Yang Guofu opened his first eponymous store with his wife in chilly Northeast China’s Harbin city in 2003, according to an official company biography of the chain. The business experienced explosive growth from 2007 when the couple started dabbling in franchising.