DOMESTIC smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc. has asked banks to pitch next Friday for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2018, sources said.

Xiaomi was valued at US$46 billion in a 2014 funding round completed before its sales stagnated. More recently, it has seen expectations of its value pick up following strong results this year.

Its float could be the world’s “largest technology IPO” next year, according to the sources.

“It is huge,” said another source, adding that a valuation of US$100 billion would “not be a crazy number.”

The world’s most valuable startup for a brief period in 2014 was worth about US$55 billion at the end of June, according to one person close to the company.

But two other people familiar with the company’s discussions said it should be worth much more based on its expected earnings.

The maker of budget smartphones saw sales stall in 2016 as it attempted to expand internationally while battling intense competition from domestic rivals Huawei, Vivo and Oppo.

At the time, it pulled back from several overseas markets including Brazil and Indonesia, but this year it has launched and re-launched sales in dozens of countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine.

It has overtaken Apple Inc. to become China’s fourth-largest smartphone vendor by sales, driven in part by a focus on offline stores, according to research firm Canalys.

The smartphone group’s listing plan comes on the heels of a slew of successful Chinese tech and fintech IPOs in recent months.

A strong pipeline is already building for 2018, with public floats expected from Meituan-Dianping, an online local services group valued at US$30 billion, and Lufax, a wealth management platform worth US$18.5 billion as of its last funding round.

Xiaomi may choose either Hong Kong or the United States as its listing venue, according to the sources. (SD-Agencies)