China's Didi eyes 2021 Hong Kong IPO with more than $60bn valuation
20 October, 2020
China's top ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing is considering Hong Kong for a multibillion-dollar initial public offering (IPO) next year, persons with knowledge of the problem said, rethinking previous aims to list in NY amid rising Sino-US tension.
Didi, backed by technology investment giants SoftBank, Alibaba and Tencent, has started initial talks with investment banks for the long-awaited IPO, according to three people. The persons spoke on condition of anonymity as the info, like the identity of the banks, was private.
The persons said the Beijing-based company is targeting a valuation of more than $60 billion by the time of launching the IPO, expected the moment in the first half of 2021.
Founded eight years ago, Didi has begun creating healthy profit because the second quarter of the entire year plus some of its investors are actually keen to cash in, said among the people.
Didi did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
The IPO plan reaches an early stage and may change because of market conditions, the persons cautioned.
Didi can be considering a fresh fundraising round prior to the IPO in a bid to improve its valuation, two of the people said. In the private secondary market, some of its shares are trading well below a valuation of $56bn it reached in 2017.
Didi had for a long time aimed for a US IPO as a result of the prestige of a New York listing, the occurrence of comparable peers like Uber and Lyft and a deeper capital pool, according to two of the people.
All three persons said Didi has opted to consider Hong Kong amid deteriorating US-China relations which have left tech firms like TikTok owner ByteDance in the crosshairs, they said.
US-listed Chinese companies now also face tightened scrutiny and more strict audit requirements from US regulators.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com