(Yicai Global) Jan. 25 -- China’s securities regulator has received an application from JD Technology to list overseas, the National Business Daily reported yesterday in response to a report in the foreign media that e-commerce giant JD.com is reviving plans for its fintech arm to go public abroad.

The current status on the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s website is ‘documents received,’ the report said, without going into further details. All Chinese companies that wish to list offshore must first apply for approval from mainland authorities.

JD Technology is planning an initial public offering in Hong Kong this year that could be worth as much as USD2 billion, Reuters reported yesterday. The firm is collaborating with Bank of America, CITIC Securities and Haitong International and might undergo a round of financing before listing, it added.

JD.com had no comment to make, The Paper reported, citing the Beijing-based firm’s response.

Should this be the case, it will be JD.com’s second effort at taking its fintech arm public after a failed attempt by JD Technology’s predecessor JD Digits last year.

JD Digits, which has since merged with the company’s cloud computing and artificial intelligence businesses to form JD Technology, became a casualty of the fallout from fintech giant Ant’s suspended public offering in November 2000 as regulators tightened the screws on internet giants who were getting too big for their boots, greatly altering their operations.

JD Technology, which offers technological products and solutions for corporate and government clients, has over 10,000 employees, more than 70 percent of whom are engaged in research and development.

JD Digits’ revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate of 41.6 percent between 2017 and 2019. It raked in revenue of CNY18.2 billion (USD2.9 billion) in 2019, CNY13.6 billion in 2018 and CNY9.1 billion in 2017.

Editor: Kim Taylor