JD.com tests market for $500M AI supply-chain listing in Hong Kong

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JD.com Inc.’s supply-chain technology division has begun gauging investor interest for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, according to details of the agreement reviewed by a reliable source. This move marks JD.com’s supply chain arm’s significant step towards finalizing its more than two-year effort to go public.

According to the information provided in the terms, Jingdong Industrials Inc., a leading industrial supply chain technology and service provider in China, operating as a business-to-business (B2B) platform under its parent company, JD.com, began its investor education meetings on Monday, November 24.

Sources close to the situation highlighted that the IPO could yield about $500 million in the next few weeks. Due to the confidential nature of the deal, the sources wished to maintain their anonymity.

JD.com seeks to go public in Hong Kong 

Reports indicate that JD.com’s IPO filing was initially submitted in 2023, but it wasn’t until this September that China’s securities regulator completed its review and gave the green light.

In a statement, the team mentioned that they plan to use the funds raised from this offering to enhance the unit’s industrial supply chain capabilities. This includes enhancing AI technologies and seeking investments and acquisitions, according to the recent listing documents of JD.com’s supply chain arm. 

When reporters reached out to JD.com for comments on its IPO plan, the company declined to respond. Regarding this new offering, analysts conducted research and discovered that the offering contributes to a series of deals in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong establishes itself as a hub for companies seeking to go public, listings in the region are projected to exceed $40 billion by 2025.

Their findings also highlighted that JD.com faces significant challenges in a market that is becoming increasingly uncertain following a strong previous year, as many of the recently introduced products have not performed well.

In the meantime, reports dated 2023 noted that JD.com mentioned that Jingdong Industrials would have a more precise value with a carve-out listing, which would allow it to access equity and debt capital markets directly. At this time, the company also aimed to list its property unit, but this has yet to get the green light from the China Securities Regulatory Commission. 

So far this year, JD.com’s shares have drastically decreased by about 18% in Hong Kong, while the city’s stock benchmark, the Hang Seng Index, has surged by 27%.

Notably, Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Haitong International, and UBS Group AG are acting as joint sponsors for the offering. 

Several AI firms seeking to go public 

While many listings carried out in Hong Kong have primarily resulted from firms currently operating in mainland China, September reports mentioned that the region started to observe new companies selling shares for the first time. 

An example is Zijin Gold, which reportedly encountered a delay due to Super Typhoon Ragasa, the most intense tropical storm so far in the 2025 Pacific typhoon season. It was set to begin trading on September 30. 

These new listings, according to sources, are intended to help assess the market’s strength, particularly since investors are less familiar with them.

“The real challenge will be next year — whether the market can find true prices and connect buyers and sellers to finalize deals,” said James Wang, who leads ECM for Asia ex-Japan at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. 

As AI becomes increasingly adopted among companies in their operations, some of the Chinese-based firms planning to go public include MiniMax, known as one of the country’s AI “Dragons” or “Tigers,” and Zhipu, which competes with OpenAI. 

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