Sina's Weibo files papers to raise US$500m in IPO in US

Twitter-like microblog service Weibo has filed to raise US$500 million via a US initial public offering, as Chinese companies flock to the American market in record numbers to take advantage of soaring valuations.

Weibo, owned by Sina, becomes the latest Chinese internet giant to tap US markets, following on the heels of search service Baidu and its own corporate parent.

Alibaba, which owns a stake in Weibo, is expected to raise about US$15 billion in New York this year, in the highest-profile internet IPO since Facebook's in 2012. The online store may disclose its prospectus for an IPO as soon as next month, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

But underscoring the challenges facing internet firms operating in a heavily censored and tightly controlled media environment, Weibo warned investors in its Friday IPO filing about uncertainty arising from regulation.

It highlighted a law that came into effect in September. The law says internet users who knowingly make or share information considered defamatory or false could face up to three years in jail in China.

"The implementation of this newly promulgated judicial interpretation may have a significant and adverse effect on the traffic of our platform and discourage the creation of user generated content," the company said.