HONG KONG (Nikkei Markets) -- WeDoctor Group, a Chinese online healthcare services company backed by internet major Tencent Holdings, expects to launch its planned initial public offering in Hong Kong within the next one-and-a-half years, Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Chan said on Wednesday.
WeDoctor is currently in the midst of a pre-IPO funding to raise $500 million, which is expected to give the company a valuation of about $5.5 billion.
"This funding round is a strategic investor round. I'm not disclosing the names" of the participating investors, Chan said on a panel at the Bloomberg Invest Asia conference in Hong Kong. "Our focus is to continue to build our offline presence," including a presence in the insurance sector, he said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event earlier in the day, Chan said the pre-IPO funding was expected to be concluded by the end of this month.
Chan said the company, which enables registered users to connect with doctors online, hasn't given a mandate to banks for the IPO yet as its focus was on "closing the pre-IPO funding round first."
He wouldn't disclose the current ownership structure of the company, only saying that founder Liao Jieyuan is its single-largest shareholder, followed by Tencent.
--Amy Lam
--Nikkei Markets is a real-time financial news service for South East Asia's markets published by Nikkei NewsRise Asia Pte Ltd, a Nikkei and NewsRise joint venture company. Nikkei Markets provides wide companies coverage in the region, including the Nikkei's Asia300 companies.
