Xiaomi Corp has filed an initial public offering to be listed in Hong Kong, which is expected to be the biggest IPO globally this year.
Xiaomi, which is expected to reach a value of about US$10 billion through the IPO, will become one of the top tech firms by market value. Its value will surpass that of Baidu and JD.com, and will sit behind Tencent and Alibaba, banks and industry insiders said.
Xiaomi, an eight-year-old Beijing-based company, didn't provide financial figures for market value in their IPO application.
In 2017, Xiaomi's revenue reached 114.6 billion yuan (US$18.2 billion) including one-third from overseas regions, representing growth of 67 percent year-on-year. The company reported a net loss of 43.89 billion yuan last year.
Excluding one-time charges, it said its profit was 5.36 billion yuan, according to the file, which is the first time the company has reported financial details.
Xiaomi's business now covers smartphones, mobile application stores and intelligent devices from routers and AI speakers to air purifiers and wristbands. Despite its wide offerings, 80 percent of business still comes from smartphone sales.
Xiaomi is an “Internet and technology firm” rather than a smartphone vendor, and has limited the margin of hardware products to 5 percent, said Lei Jun, chief executive and founder of Xiaomi.
Lei holds a 31.4 percent stake in the company, which will probably make him one of the richest men in China.
