Xiaomi founder Lei Jun to have his third listed company with Kingsoft Office set for new Shanghai tech board
- Kingsoft Office plans to raise US$300 million by selling 101 million shares, or 21.91 per cent of the total
Lei Jun, the founder of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, will soon have a third listed company under his belt after his office software firm Kingsoft Office moved a step closer to trading shares on China’s newly launched technology innovation board in Shanghai.
Beijing Kingsoft Office Software’s response to an inquiry from the Shanghai Stock Exchange on its listing application has been updated, according to information published on Monday by the Sci-Tech Innovation Board, known as the STAR Market. That paves the way for the IPO, which would be the third for Lei after his smartphone start-up Xiaomi and Kingsoft Software, both listed in Hong Kong.
In its prospectus Kingsoft Office claims to be the country’s “leading” office software and service provider, competing against US software giant Microsoft with products such as WPS Office and Kingsoft PowerWord which can be used on mainstream operating platforms such as Windows, Linux, Android and IOS.
By the end of last year, monthly active users (MAU) of these products reached 310 million people. The mobile version of WPS Office is available in 220 countries and regions and has more than 181 million MAUs, according to the company’s prospectus published on May 8.
The company counts government bodies in more than 30 provinces and 69 Chinese companies on the Fortune Global 500 list as customers, the prospectus said.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun earned almost as much as his company last year
Kingsoft Office plans to raise 2.05 billion yuan (US$300 million), with no more than 101 million shares, or 21.91 per cent of the total, being issued. The company will use the money raised on further developing and upgrading WPS Office, artificial intelligence and cloud services research and development in the office software field and its international expansion.
Besides his software businesses, Lei has invested in the semiconductor sector to complement the hardware products made by Xiaomi.
Xiaomi’s venture fund has invested in VeriSilicon Microelectronics, a Shanghai provider of system-on-a-chip (SOC) devices and IP for mobile internet products. Currently, Xiaomi holds 6.25 per cent of its equity and is the fourth largest shareholder, according to documents filed by VeriSilicon to China Securities Regulatory Commission last Thursday.
Xiaomi’s stock price is down about 50 per cent since the mainland tech giant went public in Hong Kong last July with an IPO price of HK$17. (US$2.17)
