Source:
https://scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/2186883/tencent-backed-wedoctor-said-consider-listing-spin-new-china-tech
Tech

Tencent-backed WeDoctor said to consider listing a spin off on new China tech board

  • WeDoctor seen spinning of cloud services into listing on China’s new technology board

WeDoctor, an online health care start-up backed by Tencent, is in talks with financial regulators about listing a spin-off unit on a soon-to-debut technology board, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Hangzhou-based company, known for introducing China’s first internet-based hospital, is likely to list at least part of its cloud services arm in Shanghai, the person said, asking not to be named because the discussions are private.

WeDoctor has two main businesses, in health management and cloud services. The latter is understood to eventually target a mainland offering due to data sensitivity. A company spokesman declined to comment when reached by text and phone.

Founded in 2010, WeDoctor is among a dozen of health care technology providers that have sprouted in recent years to tackle the problem of overstretched and underfunded hospitals in the world’s most populous country, where patients are known to have to pay large amounts of money to middlemen to secure appointments with renowned specialists.

WeDoctor was last valued at US$5.5 billion in May in a funding round led by Hong Kong-listed insurer AIA Group and NWS Holdings. Its other investors include Tencent, Sequoia Capital and Goldman Sachs.

Founded by artificial intelligence expert Jerry Liao Jieyuan, the company’s platform is used by over 2,900 mainland hospitals.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission, the country’s top markets regulator, said late December that it would push for the rapid establishment of an equity board for start-ups, a project unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping to help technology companies raise capital.

The CSRC said one of its top tasks in the new year would be to make sure the Shanghai Stock Exchange sets up the new technology board as soon as possible. The new board, announced by Xi during the China International Import Expo, a major trade fair held in Shanghai in November 2018, is being viewed as a move by Beijing to increase China’s attractiveness to the fast-growing number of technology start-ups, and potentially rivalling bourses in Hong Kong and New York.