Fintech unicorn Lufax, backed by China’s biggest insurer, Ping An, said to be secretly applying for US IPO
- Investors valued Lufax at US$39.4 billion in a 2018 funding round
- Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and UBS are running the IPO, source says
Financial technology unicorn Lufax Holding has filed confidentially for an initial public offering in the US this year, according to people familiar with the matter.
Lufax, which runs an online wealth management platform and retail lending technology platform, has hired Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and UBS to bring in investors, the people familiar said. A spokesman for Lufax declined to comment on any IPO plans. Spokespeople for the banks either declined to comment or did not respond immediately.
Lufax could raise roughly US$3 billion, although the IPO is at a very early stage and the size could change, the people familiar noted. Chinese electric car maker Li Auto priced its IPO on Nasdaq above the marketed range last month, signalling strong demand from investors for the stock.
03:07
Stop offering ‘untrusted’ Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat, Washington urges US tech companies
While Lufax and OneConnect previously contemplated listings in Hong Kong, their plans did not materialise. They instead plumped for the US, home to the world’s largest financial markets, despite rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Earlier this year, Lufax completed a US$1.29 billion syndicated loan to help finance its restructuring and expansion, just before the coronavirus outbreak severely disrupted business and fundraising globally.
Lufax had 44.02 million registered users on its platform as of December 31, up 9.1 per cent from the beginning of the year. Customer assets under management dropped by 6.1 per cent from the start of 2019 to 346.9 billion yuan (US$49.9 billion).
The balance of Lufax’s loans has grown steadily, while only 1.9 per cent of its outstanding loans are more than 30 days overdue, people familiar said.
The group has also moved into non-performing loans, just as the asset class swells and prices slip as economies globally slow down or contract.
Lufax scaled down its peer-to-peer lending business last year after Beijing tightened its scrutiny of the sector following a string of scandals.
