- Briefing Your roundup of Asian tech and startup news that matter
Deepti Sri · · 1 min readReport: Tencent-backed Chinese ecommerce firm halts US listing plans
“Chinese social media and ecommerce startup Xiaohongshu, or ‘Little Red Book,’ is putting its US initial public offering plans on hold after China tightened rules on overseas listings,” Bloomberg reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
Details:
- The Tencent-backed fashion and luxury marketplace may reportedly be subject to a cybersecurity review under Beijing’s proposed new rules for firms looking to list abroad. The proposed regulations could bring companies with access to over 1 million users’ data under the scanner.
- Xiaohongshu is currently in talks with advisers on alternatives for going public, including a Hong Kong listing. Earlier this year, the company had planned to raise over US$500 million in its stock market debut.
Dive deeper:
- Xiaohongshu’s move to put its US listing on ice comes amid growing scrutiny from Beijing over China-based firms looking to list abroad. Most recently, TikTok owner ByteDance also put its plans to list offshore on hold after Chinese government officials asked the company to focus on addressing data security risks. (Read: The leading Asian tech players eyeing an IPO in 2021)
- In February, China released new antitrust guidelines which were aimed at clamping down on the “monopolistic behaviors” of the country’s big tech firms, tightening the government’s grip on the internet space.
Editing by Collin Furtado and Arpit Nayak
(And yes, we’re serious about ethics and transparency. More information here.)
Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.
Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.
