ByteDance IPO *Potential*

[Shion]

ByteDance hires CFO in step towards IPO​

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/bytedance-hires-cfo-in-step-towards-ipo

HONG KONG (REUTERS) - TikTok owner ByteDance has hired Xiaomi executive Chew Shou Zi for a newly created role as chief finance officer, in a sign that the tech company is moving towards a much-anticipated initial public offering of one or some of its businesses.

ByteDance has been considering whether to go for a standalone public listing for Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, or list some of its Chinese operations, including Douyin and news aggregator Jinri Toutiao, as a package in Hong Kong or Shanghai, Reuters has reported.

ByteDance has also been looking at a listing for its non-China business, which includes TikTok that is not available in China, in Europe or the United States.

The new CFO role will be ByteDance global operations' only C-suite position besides chief executive Zhang Yiming.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi said earlier on Wednesday (March 24) in a filing to the Hong Kong Exchange that Mr Chew had resigned.

Mr Chew posted on his personal social media account that he will be based in Singapore for the new job.

Mr Chew got to know ByteDance when he was working for private equity company DST, an early investor at ByteDance, said ByteDance human resource chief Liang Rubo in an internal memo to staff which was seen by Reuters. Mr Chew had also worked at Goldman Sachs.

"I believe Chew's accession can help us further expand our global business," Mr Liang said in the memo.

Earlier this year, ByteDance closed a fund-raising that valued it at US$180 billion (S$242.4 billion), the world's most valuable financing round in the private market.

TikTok had come under scrutiny during former US president Donald Trump's administration, which alleged that the app posed national security concerns as personal data of US users could be obtained by China's government. TikTok has denied the allegation.

US President Joe Biden's new administration has paused a government lawsuit that could have resulted in a de facto ban on TikTok's use in the United States.

 

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Leaked ByteDance memo ahead of IPO shows blockbuster revenue projections

https://www.straitstimes.com/busine...ce-memo-shows-blockbuster-revenue-projections
BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - As ByteDance prepares for a historic initial public offering, an internal memo leaked showing that TikTok's owner aims to grow advertising sales in China by 42 per cent and triple the size of its e-commerce business this year.

The Internet titan is seeking to increase ad revenue for its China-based businesses, including Douyin and Toutiao, to 260 billion yuan (S$53.2 billion) this year from 183 billion yuan in 2020, according to the memo seen by Bloomberg News. The target excludes short-video sensation TikTok. It's also aiming for e-commerce gross merchandise value of as much as 600 billion yuan, up from 170 billion yuan last year.

Douyin - TikTok's Chinese twin - is targeting 680 million daily active users, compared with around 610 million to 620 million in March. The targets are preliminary and still subject to change, according to a person familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified discussing internal targets. A ByteDance spokesman didn't immediately respond to an e-mail request for comment.

The aggressive targets underscore ByteDance's intention to take on China's largest Internet companies on their turf. The firm - whose overall revenue more than doubled to US$35 billion last year - has kicked off preparations for an IPO of some of its main businesses, including Douyin, and is choosing between Hong Kong and US as the listing venue, people familiar with the matter have said. It could raise at least several billion dollars from a listing of the Chinese assets, although the size could still change as deliberations are at an early stage.

If ByteDance hits its sales goal, its Chinese arm will have done in nine years what it took Facebook 13 to achieve, and that excludes TikTok and other businesses abroad. At US$40 billion (S$53.4 billion), the nascent ad business would be roughly twice that of YouTube's.

Founded by Mr Zhang Yiming in 2012, ByteDance has demonstrated the rare ability to create repeated hit services in competition with giants like Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding. His first big success was news aggregator Toutiao, which means "headlines" in Chinese. TikTok became a global phenomenon, while Douyin is leading in China's domestic market.


The 38-year-old founder now ranks among the world's richest people after ByteDance shares traded in the private market at a valuation of more than US$250 billion, people familiar with the dealings have said.

The company last month hired its first chief financial officer - Mr Chew Shou Zi, who oversaw Xiaomi Corp's initial public offering as finance chief more than two years ago. The appointment has fuelled speculation over the social media giant's plans to go public.

Douyin's ad revenue in the first quarter was roughly 31 billion yuan and may reach 150 billion yuan this year, according to the memo. That compares with the 8.5 billion yuan that closest rival Kuaishou Technology earned from online advertising in the three months ended December.

ByteDance is ramping up its competition with Alibaba, with ad sales from brands and merchants expected to reach at least half that of the larger firm's this year, the memo showed. E-commerce is likely to overtake gaming to become the No. 1 contributor to its ad revenue this year.

 

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TikTok owner ByteDance launches share buyback after shelving IPO plans: Report​

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...hes-share-buyback-after-shelving-ipo-14891904
BEIJING: ByteDance, the Chinese owner of short video platform giant TikTok, launched a share buyback this week for current and former employees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday (May 26).

The buyback comes after ByteDance announced in April that it did not have imminent plans for a public listing. The company had planned to list some of its Chinese businesses including TikTok's Chinese version Douyin in Hong Kong, sources previously told Reuters.

Last week, company founder Zhang Yiming unexpectedly announced that he will step down as CEO, a move that comes as Chinese regulators are increasing scrutiny of the country's biggest technology firms.

In an email sent to current and former employees this week, ByteDance said eligible shareholders can apply to sell their holdings by Jun 20 at US$126 per share for current employees and US$100.80 per share for former employees, the people said.

The price for current employees during an earlier buyback last November was US$60 a share, the sources said.

Beijing-based ByteDance declined to comment.

The nine-year-old company typically launches share buybacks twice a year, the sources said, declining to be named as the information is not public.

Some ByteDance employees recently expressed frustration on social media for not being able to sell their shares in an IPO.

 

[Shion]

ByteDance shelved IPO after Chinese regulators warn about data​

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/ga...-ipo-after-chinese-regulators-warn-about-data

 

[dappermen]

Yes better to halt now then to face more issues later