Qudian raises US$900m in biggest-ever US listing by Chinese fintech firm

HONG KONG: China’s online micro-credit provider, Qudian Inc, raised US$900 million (RM3.8 billion) in an initial public offering (IPO) that priced above expectations, underscoring robust United States investor demand for fast-growing Chinese companies.

The offering from Qudian represents the biggest-ever US listing by a Chinese financial technology firm.

It is also the most high-profile company to take part in a resurgence of US listings by Asian firms this year.

Qudian, which is backed by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial and became profitable last year, operates a website that allows college students and young whitecollar workers to buy laptops, smartphones and other consumer electronics in monthly instalments.

Its American depositary shares were priced at US$24 each, above the marketed range of US$19US$22, said sources close to the matter.

At the IPO price, Qudian would have a market value of about US$7.9 billion.

Qudian sold 35.63 million new shares, while shareholders including Kunlun Group and board directors Li Du and Yi Cao sold 1.88 million existing shares.

Qudian’s net income jumped almost eight times to 973.7 million yuan (RM698 million) in the six months ended June 30, while revenue rose near five-fold to 1.83 billion yuan. Reuters