Yixin Group, a China-based online car finance platform backed by corporates including internet company Tencent, has filed for an initial public offering that could raise up to HK$6.77bn ($867m), China Money Network reported today.
The company is set to offer 878.7 million shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at a price range of HK$6.60 to HK$7.70, valuing Yixin at up to $6.5bn despite its inability to make a profit.
Spun out of automotive e-commerce business BitAuto in 2014, Yixin operates an online car financing marketplace for products such as second-hand vehicles, car leasing and insurance.
The company claims to have served more than 100 million users across more than 300 Chinese cities to date.
While the IPO filing revealed that the company’s revenue hit $220m in the first half of 2016 and $230m in the first half of 2017, its losses have climbed to $920m in the same period, from approximately $100,000 in 2016.
The filing also revealed that Yixin has exaggerated its equity funding in the past. It claimed in May 2017 to have raised $580m from Tencent, BitAuto, China Orient AMC International and angel investor Wei Wang, but the round’s size appears to have only been $505m.
Yixin had previously received $550m in an August 2016 series B round with backing from BitAuto, Tencent, internet company Baidu and e-commerce firm JD.com, after Tencent, JD.com and BitAuto had supplied $390m in series A capital the previous year.
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