Shein, a global B2C fast fashion e-commerce platform, is planning a New York IPO this year, Reuters reported Tuesday. Xu Yangtian, the founder of the Shenzhen-based company, is considering applying for Singaporean citizenship in order to get around the recently tightened rules for Chinese-owned companies looking to list overseas. With a reported valuation of $50 billion, the company’s proposed listing could be the first major IPO by a Chinese company in the US since China introduced stricter restrictions on such moves in July last year. [Reuters]

Tencent led a funding round of $100 million for a new electric vehicle startup called Luoke Qiche at the end of 2021, Chinese media outlet 36Kr reported, citing people familiar with the matter. It’s the latest big bet by the Chinese tech giant on the fast-growing EV industry, after it became one of Nio’s biggest investors in 2015. Luoke Qiche was established in late 2020 by Chang Jing, the CEO of Roborock, a Shanghai-listed consumer electronics firm that is backed by smartphone maker Xiaomi. The EV startup is currently carrying out another round of financing at a valuation of $2 billion, the report said. Tencent declined to comment when contacted by TechNode on Tuesday and Luoke was unavailable for comment. [36Kr, in Chinese]

JD Logistics, a logistics and supply chain spin-off from online retailer JD, has entered into a partnership with short video app Douyin to offer delivery supports for the latter’s growing e-commerce business during the Chinese New Year shopping season. JD Logistics plans to spend RMB 400 million ($63 million) on incentives for delivery staff who work during the holiday. Douyin’s shopping campaign for the holiday lasts from Jan. 25 to Feb. 7. The Lunar New Year holiday is a time when China’s delivery industry usually experiences a workforce shortage as drivers head home to their families for the traditional festival. JD Logistics, previously the in-house delivery arm of the e-commerce giant, was opened to external users in 2017. The company expects non-JD customers to drive growth, having gone public in May. [Securities Daily, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s fintech affiliate Ant Group is allegedly connected to a corruption scandal involving the former party secretary of Hangzhou, according to local media reports. State broadcaster CCTV aired a documentary on Wednesday featuring claims that a number of private companies received help from Hangzhou’s former party secretary Zhou Jiangyong to acquire cheap land before he was arrested in August for corruption. Although CCTV didn’t name Hangzhou headquartered Ant Group specifically, public records show that an Ant Group affiliate bought two land plots at discounted rates in the city in 2019 after taking stakes in two mobile payment businesses owned by the younger brother of the party secretary. [Nikkei Asia]

Chinese tech giant ByteDance saw its total revenue grow by 70% year on year to around $58 billion in 2021, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The growth rate represents a slow down from the more than 100% year on year growth achieved in 2020, with China’s tightened regulations on big tech companies a major factor. The TikTok owner is valued at $353 billion (RMB 2.25 trillion), according to a December report from the Hurun Research Institute. [Reuters]