*

WeRide ( WRD ) hires Morgan Stanley ( MS ), CICC for Hong Kong secondary

listing

*

Its market value stands at $3 billion, shares down 24%

this year

*

WeRide ( WRD ) partners with Grab and Uber ( UBER ) for autonomous vehicle

services

(Updates Oct 14 story on Oct 15 adding regulatory approval

status of the listing in paragraph 2 and market value and share

price)

By Yantoultra Ngui and Kane Wu

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Chinese

autonomous driving firm WeRide ( WRD ) has hired Morgan Stanley ( MS )

and China International Capital Corp (CICC)

to work on a dual primary listing in Hong Kong, three sources

with knowledge of the matter said.

The Guangzhou-based company, which listed on Nasdaq in

October 2024, said in a filing to the United States Securities

and Exchange Commission late on Tuesday that the China

Securities Regulatory Commission has issued a notice of filing

regarding the proposed global offering and dual primary listing

of its class A ordinary shares in Hong Kong.

The notice of filing means the Chinese securities

regulator has given the deal its go-ahead.

The company has filed confidentially to the Hong Kong

Stock Exchange for the listing, the sources said.

Details of the offering, including its size, have not been

finalised, said two of the sources, adding the valuation would

be in line with where it is in the U.S.

The Nasdaq-listed company had a market value of about $2.9

billion as of Tuesday's market close after the share price fell

1.3%.

The company said in the filing it has a total of 938,366,330

ordinary shares outstanding, comprising 883,551,907 class A

ordinary shares and 54,814,423 class B ordinary shares,

excluding any shares to be issued under the proposed offering.

It said there is no assurance whether or when the

offering or listing will be completed.

"WeRide ( WRD ) is unable to comment on queries regarding a

potential listing," the company said in an earlier emailed

statement to Reuters on Tuesday. "We remain focused on executing

our business strategy and delivering value to our stakeholders."

Morgan Stanley ( MS ) declined to comment. CICC did not immediately

respond to a request for comment.

The sources did not wish to be identified as the matter was

private.

Some U.S.-listed Chinese companies are seeking to raise

capital via secondary listings in Hong Kong. Such moves have

been driven partly by concern over potential forced delistings

of Chinese companies from U.S. exchanges since trade relations

between the world's two largest economies deteriorated sharply

this year.

Confidential filings allow firms to navigate the regulatory

review process without public disclosure, offering flexibility

when listing timelines are uncertain.

Founded in 2017, WeRide ( WRD ) develops autonomous driving

technology and operates robotaxi services in China and

internationally, according to its official website and

announcements.

WeRide ( WRD ) shares have fallen about 25% so far this year to

trade at $10.62 apiece.

It reported total revenue of 127.2 million yuan ($17.8

million) in the second quarter, up 60.8% from a year earlier,

while its net loss narrowed slightly to 406.4 million yuan from

413.6 million over the same period, according to its latest

earnings release in July.

The company has partnerships with ride-hailing firms Grab

and Uber ( UBER ).

Grab announced in August that it had committed a strategic

equity investment in WeRide ( WRD ) and would work with the company to

deploy robotaxis and autonomous shuttles in Southeast Asia.

Grab and WeRide ( WRD ) are preparing to launch an autonomous

vehicle service in northern Singapore in 2026.

Uber ( UBER ) and WeRide ( WRD ) have partnered to bring autonomous vehicles

to the Uber ( UBER ) platform.

Grab said it is not in a position to comment on WeRide's ( WRD )

listing plans. Uber ( UBER ) did not immediately respond to a request for

comment on Tuesday.

($1 = 7.7771 Hong Kong dollars)

($1 = 7.1363 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore and Kane Wu in Hong

Kong; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)