Consumer electronics company Xiaomi is rumored to be applying for a Hong Kong listing with an estimated valuation of $65 billion to $70 billion, according to local media.
The report states the company is in the final stages of readying itself and plans to submit its application by May at the earliest. It also intends to list in Mainland China.
There has been no official statement from the company so far.
With its expected valuation, Xiaomi will be Hong Kong’s 12th biggest listed company based on market capitalization. Reports earlier this year suggested that the amount would be closer to $200 billion after an investment bank approved the target. There has been much speculation about the timing of the company’s IPO. In 2016, founder and CEO of Xiaomi Lei Jun said that he didn’t expect the company to go public before 2025.
Last year, the company was named one of China’s top three unicorns by the Hurun Research Institute. At the time it had a valuation of $30 billion, half that of Ant Financial, which also occupied one of the top three places.
Earlier this year, Lei said Xiaomi would return to being China’s number one smartphone manufacturer following the company’s “turning point” in 2017. Despite a slump in the global smartphone market, the company’s shipments were up by over 96% year-on-year in 2017.
Xiaomi has been rapidly expanding its product portfolio through investments in 89 companies, with many of these having been part of Xiaomi’s incubator from their founding.