Bytedance, the owner of short-video app TikTok, said it has no immediate plans to go public in Hong Kong, denying an earlier report that said it’s eyeing an initial public offering in Q1 2020.
Photo credit: Bytedance
The Financial Times published the report on October 28, citing two people briefed on Bytedance’s plans.
“There is absolutely zero truth to the rumors that we plan to list in Hong Kong in Q1,” a Bytedance spokesman told Reuters, however.
Four sources familiar with the company also told Reuters that Bytedance’s IPO plans were not immediate.
During the first half of the year, the firm reported a revenue of over US$7 billion, with a valuation of US$78 billion in late 2018, separate sources have told Reuters. It also recently topped the Hurun unicorn rankings alongside Alipay operator Ant Financial Services and ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, having a combined valuation of US$280 billion.
In August, the company launched its own search engine in China, entering a space currently dominated by Baidu. It also released two apps to help with its advertisers’ marketing plans via its short-video platforms.
Earlier this year, Bytedance fully acquired game developer Mokun Technology, expanding its mobile gaming presence and sharpening its rivalry with Tencent.
However, the company’s global expansion efforts may be affected, as US senators called on intelligence officials to assess the potential risks posed by TikTok. The senators are mainly concerned over the app’s user data collection and content censorship practices.
In its defense, the short-video app said it stores US user data in the US, with backup redundancy in Singapore, indicating that none of the collected data is subject to Chinese law.
Editing by Charmaine de Lazo
(And yes, we’re serious about ethics and transparency. More information here.)
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