(Yicai Global) May 28 -- China’s Full Truck Alliance has filed for an initial public offering in New York. It may raise USD1.5 billion, valuing the Uber-like truck-hailing startup at USD20 billion to USD30 billion, CNBC reported.

CICC, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs are the lead underwriters, according to documents Beijing-based Full Truck submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which did not specify the size of the IPO.

Last November, Full Truck said it had raised about USD1.7 billion from its latest financing round. Thirteen investors took part, including Tencent Holdings, SoftBank Vision Fund, and Sequoia Capital. Softbank and Sequoia own 22.2 percent and 7.2 percent of the company, respectively.  

Formed in 2017 by the merger of Yunmanman and Huochebang, Full Truck cuts no-load routes and delivery waiting times through an online freight platform. It has more than 10 million registered drivers and in excess of 5 million vehicle owners on its platform.

In the first quarter of this year, revenue soared 98 percent to CNY867 million (USD136.1 million), Full Truck’s IPO prospectus showed. Last year, revenue rose 4.4 percent to CNY2.58 billion (USD405.1 million), while gross transaction value was CNY173.8 billion (USD27.3 billion) on 71.7 million orders.

The firm’s competitors include Huolala, Didi Chuxing, and SF Express. In April last year, Didi invested CNY100 million to set up Didi Freight, which was launched a month later. Huolala secured USD1.5 billion in a series F fundraiser this January, and also plans to go public in the United States.

Meanwhile, China is strengthening regulation on the freight sector. On May 14, the Ministry of Transport and the Cyberspace Administration of China ordered 10 transport platforms, including Full Truck and Huolala, to rectify issues such as unreasonable pricing mechanisms, unfair operating rules, and suspected infringement of legitimate rights and interests of truck drivers.

Editor: Futura Costaglione