E-CIGARETTE maker RLX Technology Inc. is looking to raise as much as US$1.17 billion from a U.S. initial public offering (IPO).

RLX Technology, backed by Sequoia Capital China, is selling 116.5 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at US$8 to US$10 each, according to a U.S. filing.

Each ADS represents one ordinary share and will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Chinese company, known for its RELX-branded devices in China, had earlier considered Hong Kong as a listing venue, but it ultimately opted for the United States.

RLX, founded in 2018, is China’s largest e-cigarette maker. The vaping industry has boomed in China even as the country banned online sales of e-cigarettes just over a year ago.

China has joined other countries globally in putting pressure on vaping amid concerns about its potential health effects.

China is the world’s largest potential vaping market, with an estimated 286.7 million adult smokers in 2019, RLX said in its prospectus. But vaping products only have a 1.2 percent penetration rate, compared with 32.4 percent in the United States.

RLX’s revenues increased to 2.2 billion yuan (US$340 million) in the first nine months of 2020 from 1.14 billion yuan a year earlier.

It started turning a profit in 2019 and posted a net income of 109 million yuan in the first nine months last year. (SD-Agencies)