Lufax, a China-based online financial services platform backed by insurance firm Ping An, has closed a $900m round of financing at an $18.5bn valuation, China Money Network reported today.
The information was disclosed in an investor document seen by Tencent Tech that also revealed Ping An held a 47.5% stake in Lufax prior to the latest funding.
The investors in the round have not been disclosed but local media reports suggested the consortium included Ping An and US-based investment bank Morgan Stanley. A source told Bloomberg last month the investors would be made up of Chinese and overseas investors.
Founded in 2011 as a Ping An subsidiary with the assistance of Shanghai’s municipal government, Lufax operates as an online exchange where users can trade financial assets.
Transactions on Lufax in the first nine months of 2015 rose by nine times to more than $143bn, according to figures in Ping An’s third quarter report.
Lufax reportedly raised $483m from BlackPine Private Equity Partners, CDH Investments and China’s International Capital Corporation in March 2015 at a $10bn valuation.
The $18.5bn valuation would make Lufax the fifth most valuable VC-stage company in the world, behind Uber, Xiaomi, Airbnb and Palantir. It is preparing to launch an initial public offering in the second half of this year.