LUFAX, one of China’s largest online wealth management platforms backed by financial giant Ping An Insurance Group, is seeking a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) as early as this year, sources with direct knowledge said. The Shanghai-based firm has enlisted Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan and UBS to work on the offering, according to the sources. Lufax is currently preparing the confidential filing for the IPO, the sources said. It has not decided how much to raise in the offering or the valuation, the people added. The company was valued at US$38 billion before its latest fundraising in 2018, Reuters reported at the time. The company declined to comment. Chinese firms have raised US$47.5 billion from initial and secondary public offerings this year, nearly half of the global volume, Refinitiv data showed. Only 6 percent of the total 237 offerings made so far this year have been in U.S. markets due to tightened regulatory scrutiny amid China-U.S. tensions. Some Chinese fintech companies nevertheless have found it easier to list in the United States than in Hong Kong where they have to satisfy the bourse’s Listing Committee of their suitability, a step not required in the United States. The committee has previously rejected companies whose business models it had doubts over. Cryptocurrency miner Canaan and Ebang went on to list in the United States after being denied by Hong Kong’s stock exchange. Lufax will be following OneConnect Financial Technology, another fintech company backed by Ping An, which raised US$312 million in December and has seen its shares more than double since. Set up in 2011 as a P2P platform by Ping An, Lufax has however been exiting the once core business as China cracked down on the sector to contain financial risks. (SD-Agencies) |