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Exclusive | JD.com may withdraw fintech unit’s stock sale in Shanghai’s Star Market after restructuring at JD Technology, sources say
- JD.com’s fintech unit, known as JD Finance until 2018, was renamed JD Digits, and then renamed JD Technology in January
- The unit absorbed JD.com’s artificial intelligence and cloud computing businesses in its latest restructuring
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JD Technology, the fintech unit of one of China’s largest online shopping platforms, is likely to withdraw its initial public offering (IPO) from Shanghai’s Star Market, amid changing business circumstances after the halt of Ant Group’s stock sale last November, according to sources. The company, renamed from JD Digits since absorbing JD.com’s businesses in artificial intelligence and cloud computing in January, may resubmit a listing application in future, according to two sources briefed about ongoing discussions who declined to be named.
The company feels it’s appropriate to withdraw the IPO plan because its name, its business and its senior management team have all changed since the initial listing plan was first filed, said one source who is involved in the listing discussions.
Any postponement in the listing of JD Technology, 36.8 per cent owned by JD.com, would not be a heavy blow to the e-commerce company, as investors are convinced of the company’s business prospects and are unlikely to force the parent into a buy-out, another source said. Executives of JD.com and JD Technology in Beijing did not respond to requests for comment.
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The IPO application by JD Technology is sitting in abeyance. The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) have neither given their approval, nor rejected the application. Spokespeople at the bourse operator and the securities regulator could not be reached to comment.
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The fintech unit changed its name at least twice in the last three years. Known as JD Finance until 2018, the unit filed to raise an estimated 20 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) last September on the Star Market. That was two months before China’s financial regulators published a raft of new rules to rein in the growth of fintech, particularly in small online loans to consumers and small businesses.
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