Xiaomi Picks Hong Kong For Its 'US$10bn' Listing

Smartphone maker Xiaomi has kicked off what is expected to be the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO) in years after it filed documents to list in Hong Kong.

Xiaomi submitted a heavily redacted filing to the Hong Kong exchange late on Wednesday laying out its financial details in what appeared to set the stage for a full IPO announcement.

If confirmed, a share offering in the SAR would be a coup for Hong Kong, which was said to be vying with New York and Shanghai for Xiaomi's listing.

The papers, which appeared on the bourse's website, did not indicate how much Xiaomi is potentially looking to raise in the IPO.

But Bloomberg News, citing people with knowledge of the matter, reported that it was expected to be worth at least US$10 billion and could value the business as high as US$100 billion.

That could make Xiaomi's IPO rival Alibaba's US$25 billion debut in 2014 in New York.

Xiaomi is taking advantage of changes in Hong Kong that mean companies with different share classes can now list in the city.

The filing said the company posted a loss of 43.9 billion yuan in 2017, but that revenue jumped 67.5 percent to 114.5 billion yuan.

It was accompanied by an upbeat letter from the company's founder and chairman Lei Jun saying Xiaomi intends to become a "part of the lives of billions of people globally in the future", adding "please join us on our journey." (AFP)