Tencent-backed video platform Kuaishou targets January IPO in Hong Kong, people familiar say

TikTok competitor Kuaishou Technology could be the first Chinese tech group to take its shares to market in 2021

The loss-making video-sharing platform was last valued at US$30 billion, though the size of the intended IPO has not been revealed

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A Kuaishou promotional karaoke store in Guangzhou where customers can either sing on a public stage or entertain themselves in a sound-proof cubicle equipped with screen, microphones and earphones. Photo: SCMP Handout

Published: 7:17pm, 22 Dec 2020Updated: 9:54pm, 22 Dec 2020

Chinese TikTok competitor Kuaishou Technology is targeting a listing at the end of January at the earliest on the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to people familiar with the deal.

The application by the Tencent-backed company for an initial public offering will be heard by a listing committee in mid January, the sources said, and if all goes well the shares could be trading by the end of January. They declined to disclose the size of the intended IPO.

The IPO of the world’s second-largest video sharing platform in terms of daily average users would be one of the first of the new year by a Chinese technology group.

Also in the pipeline is TikTok’s parent ByteDance, which may carve off some of its biggest assets including Douyin, its Chinese version of the app, and its news aggregator Toutiao for separate IPOs, according to a Bloomberg report.

Bilibili, another video-sharing platform already listed on the Nasdaq, is also seeking to list in Hong Kong. All these companies are reportedly targeting at least US$1 billion each, according to various media reports.

The Hong Kong stock exchange has had a busy year, qualifying as the second-biggest IPO market globally after the Nasdaq. It is on course to raise US$50 billion by the end of the year.