Sea's mega US$6.3b fundraising will test market appetite for e-commerce ambition

SOUTH-EAST Asia's most valuable company is at it again. Consumer Internet group Sea is aiming to raise US$6.3 billion in the largest equity offering of the year.

The Tencent-backed company is proposing to issue 11 million shares, currently valued at about US$3.8 billion, and US$2.5 billion of convertible bonds.

While the group simply said funds will be used for business expansion and other general corporate purposes, the market's attention has naturally turned to fast-growing e-commerce arm Shopee.