Pre-IPO conditioning: how startups prepare for market debuts

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With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine driving the knife deeper into languishing global stock markets, we decided to take a look at those brave enough to make their debut amid bearish red flags.

The IPO market isn’t exactly hot right now, with a few new issuers either delaying or trimming the size of their listings. But that hasn’t stopped swathes of high-profile IPOs from quietly simmering under the surface.

Asian tech companies have been doing plenty of IPO-related groundwork recently – from changes in citizenship to drawing executives from competitors. A closer look at the scene will reveal the various approaches these firms are taking.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

For instance, Shein, the fast-fashion giant, appears to be doing whatever it can to bypass China’s tougher rules for offshore IPOs.

Not only did the retailer shift its parent firm to Singapore – similar to the move made by super app Grab (GRAB, NDAQ) – but its founder and CEO, Chris Xu, also became a permanent resident of the city-state. These developments come following reports that suggested Shein was looking to list in New York later this year.

Meanwhile, IPO-bound FinAccel, the parent company of Kredivo, an Indonesia-based buy now, pay later service, has stoked investor interest by taking the M&A route. FinAccel raised its stake in Bank Bisnis Internasional (BBSI, IDX) from 40% to 75% in a bid to claim a chunk of Indonesia’s fast-growing digibank market.

Akulaku, another fintech unicorn heading for the public market, managed to line its coffers by raising US$100 million in a series E round. However, that wasn’t the case for Alibaba (BABA, NDAQ), which shelved plans to raise US$1 billion for Lazada before Southeast Asian firm’s IPO.

The bad news doesn’t end there for the Chinese ecommerce giant as it posted its slowest revenue growth since going public last week. You can find a detailed review of Alibaba’s financial health here.

Carousell, on the other hand, offered a glimpse into its financial performance in the lead-up to its debut on the public market, which might happen as soon as this current quarter. In this premium story, we break down the key aspects of the online classifieds firm’s 2020 earnings result.

Carsome, Carousell’s competitor in the automobile space, has been beefing up its digital marketing and tech units in a peculiar manner. Malaysia’s first unicorn has been gearing up to dive into public markets this year and, as my colleague Emmanuel reports in this premium story, it has made a habit of luring a host of junior and senior staff from rival firms.

Most companies prefer to keep their IPO plans on the down-low, but Singapore-based PropertyGuru doesn’t beat around the bush. Despite having already announced the firm’s intention to list in the US last year, PropertyGuru’s CEO went a step further to confirm that the listing will take place by the end of the first quarter this year.