Beijing-based e-commerce company JD.com (NASDAQ: JD) has passed a listing hearing, a necessary step for the company to float shares to raise money via the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to a preliminary prospectus disclosed on Friday.
The prospectus does not contain information on how many shares JD.com is to issue or when these shares are to be listed for trading.
However, Bloomberg reported earlier that the company could raise at least USD 2 billion in the share sale.
The prospectus shows that JD.com issued 2.94 million ordinary A shares on May 27 to Tencent, which is now the company’s largest shareholder, holding a 17.8% stake, while Liu Qiangdong, the company’s chairman, takes a 15.1% stake. However, Liu still holds 78.4% of the company’s voting power while Tencent takes 4.6% of voting interests.
JD.com’s secondary listing follows on the heels of Alibaba, its major e-commerce rival, which secured USD 12.9 billion by floating shares in Hong Kong.
The move also comes after Chinese gaming publisher NetEase’s (NASDAQ: NTES) secondary offering on Tuesday, in which the company has seen its new shares 74 times oversubscribed in the first two days, reported Hong Kong Economic Times (HKET). The new shares are to start trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on June 11.
A total of 50 to 60 US-listed Chinese companies could return to list in Shanghai or Hong Kong in the coming three to five years said Song Yang, as researcher from investment bank China Renaissance, in the HKET report.