Chinese fintech Jianpu rises in US debut

APD NEWS

text

Shares of Jianpu Technology rose as much as 3.8 percent in their US market debut on Thursday, giving the Chinese online financial planning platform a market value of about 3.42 billion dollars.

Jianpu’s initial public offering of 22.5 million American depository shares was priced at 8.00 dollars per ADS - below its proposed range of 8.50 dollars to 10.50 dollars - and raised 180 million dollars.

The market value of 3.42 billion dollars was calculated based on 412.3 million ordinary shares outstanding. Jianpu’s two ADSs represent five Class A ordinary shares.

Beijing-based Jianpu’s shares opened at 8.25 dollars and hit a high of 8.30 dollars on the New York Stock Exchange.

The IPO is the latest in a recent flurry of New York listings by Asian companies and follows that of Chinese online micro-credit lender Qudian, which raised 900 million dollars in the biggest US listing by a Chinese company this year.

Jianpu, a unit of Chinese fintech company Rong360 Inc, generates revenue from fees for its recommendation services on loan products and credit card products.

Financial products and services are increasingly being made available on online platforms in China as the nation’s rapidly multiplying internet population has created demand for innovative business models.

Beijing-based Jianpu's net loss narrowed to 49.04 million yuan (7.39 million US dollars) in the six months ended June 30, from 104.6 million yuan a year earlier. Its revenue jumped more than two-fold to 393.4 million yuan.

Venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed China Partners are Jianpu’s major shareholders.

Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley were among the top underwriters for the IPO.

(REUTERS)