With a valuation of nearly USD 400 billion, app factory ByteDance—known chiefly as the company behind TikTok, Douyin, and Toutiao—has submitted a letter to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange indicating the company is seeking underwriters for a listing in Hong Kong, local news media China Securities reported on Wednesday, citing an anonymous source.
The Beijing-based tech giant’s late March hiring of former Xiaomi (HKSE: 1810) executive Zhou Shouzi as CFO was seen as a move to prepare for an IPO.
Last month, a Reuters report said ByteDance was considering listing Douyin, the Chinese twin of global sensation TikTok, in Hong Kong or New York. The rest of its Chinese businesses, including news aggregator Toutiao, video streaming platform Xigua, and others, will seek ticker codes in either Hong Kong or the Star market in Shanghai, the report said.
Kuaishou, Douyin’s major competitor, completed its USD 5.3 billion IPO in Hong Kong in February.
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This article is part of KrASIA’s “Key Stat” series, where KrASIA picks and presents the most significant figures of the day’s technology and business world.