CHINA’S e-commerce major JD.com Inc. is exploring a spinoff of its Internet finance unit to facilitate the expansion of the business in its home market as it reported a third-quarter loss.

    JD.com, China’s second-largest online retailer, is aiming to sell its whole stake in JD Finance to Chinese investors, including the parent company’s chairman, Richard Liu, it said yesterday in a statement.

    JD’s online finance subsidiary would be fully owned by Chinese investors after such a sale, allowing it to expand its operations in certain licensed financial-services businesses in China, it said.

    The Beijing-based company said third-quarter losses had widened by 51 percent to US$121 million from a year ago. Revenue in the third quarter was US$9.1 billion, and is expected to be between 75.0 billion and 77.5 billion yuan (US$10.9 billion-US$11.3 billion) in the fourth quarter, the company said.

    JD.com is one of several Internet companies seeking to tap credit demand among consumers and small and medium-size businesses in China. JD.com and fellow majors Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. have been ramping up efforts to raise funds and expand their payment and digital-banking platforms.

    Launched in 2013, JD Finance offers a range of financial services and products to consumers and small businesses in China.

    In January, JD Finance raised 6.65 billion yuan in financing from investors. (SD-Agencies)