China’s JD.com kickstarts process to spin off industrials unit in Hong Kong, filings show

CHINA’S Jingdong Industrials, part of e-commerce giant JD.com, has renewed its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) ambitions, lodging an application with the city’s stock exchange to carry out a share offering, according to regulatory filings.

JD.com announced in March last year it would spin out its industrial and property businesses into separate businesses but neither deal went ahead as financial markets were volatile and IPO volumes collapsed globally.

JD Industrials initially filed to the Hong Kong stock exchange then but its application lapsed after six months in line with the bourse’s rules. JD Industrials is an industrial supply chain technology and service provider in China, according to its filings.

The company had planned to raise US$1 billion in a Hong Kong IPO last year, Reuters reported.

A fresh application was lodged to the Hong Kong stock exchange website dated Sep 30.

The application did not outline JD Industrials’ fundraising target or a timeline for a deal to go ahead. REUTERS