JD Technology, fintech unit of China’s JD.com, engages banks for Hong Kong IPO that could raise up to US$2 billion, source says

The company is working with banks to list shares in Hong Kong this year, with a deal size of between US$1-2 billion, source says

The fourth listing by a JD group company in Hong Kong will see its valuation shrink by at least 35 per cent compared with its previously planned Star Market IPO

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Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com’s fintech unit, JD Technology, is eyeing a Hong Kong IPO. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:49pm, 25 Jan 2022Updated: 6:00pm, 25 Jan 2022

JD Technology, the fintech unit of China’s e-commerce giant JD.com, is working with bankers on a Hong Kong listing this year that could help it raise between US$1 billion and US$2 billion, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

The listing plan comes after the company, previously known as JD Digits and JD Finance, withdrew its listing application from Shanghai’s Star Market early last year.

The company’s reduced IPO fundraising target will shrink its valuation by at least 35 per cent from September 2020 when it submitted an application to the Nasdaq-style market to raise as much as 20 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion).

The switch to Hong Kong would also be a shot in the arm for the city’s bourse, which dropped out of the top three global ranking for listings last year, according to lists compiled by leading accounting firms such as EY and KPMG. It was pushed to fourth place by Shanghai, with Nasdaq and New York taking the top two spots.

Hong Kong ranked fourth in the list of global fundraising venues last year. Photo: Handout

The source, who is not authorised to speak publicly about the deal, declined to provide further details as preparation work for the IPO is still at an early stage.

JD Technology’s Hong Kong listing plan, first reported by IFR on Monday, if successful, would be the fourth by a JD group company in the city in less than two years.