ByteDance Prepares IPO Chinese Version of TikTok

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The Chinese technology company ByteDance, known for the popular video app TikTok, has started preparations for an IPO of various business units. This includes the Chinese domestic TikTok clone Douyin, sources said.

ByteDance has engaged advisers and would like to opt for an IPO in Hong Kong or New York. In addition to Douyin, the company would also like to bring the Chinese news app Toutiao and the video platform Xigua to the stock exchange. A separate IPO would then be considered for TikTok, along with ByteDance’s foreign assets.

ByteDance is expected to raise billions with the IPO of the Chinese assets. Meanwhile, the social media company would be valued at approximately $ 250 billion due to investor confidence in the company’s future and in the policies of CEO Zhang Yiming, who founded ByteDance in 2012.

Earlier this year, Zhang hired another new finance director, Chew Shou Zi. Chew previously worked as chief financial officer of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and helped that company go public more than two years ago. His appointment fuels speculation about an IPO of ByteDance or parts of the company.

Last year, TikTok came under fire from former US President Donald Trump. He argued that TikTok is storing too much data, which would reach the Chinese government via ByteDance. Trump demanded that TikTok’s US operations are sold to an American party or else the app would have to go black in the United States. Under current president Joe Biden, that ban was suspended for the time being.