Chinese video streaming service iQiyi has announced its intention to list on the US stock market, filing for an IPO of up to $1.5 billion.
iQiyi, which is owned by Chinese giant Baidu, offers a popular service in China similar to Netflix and had more than 50 million subscribers by the end of 2017. In April 2017, the platform signed a licensing agreement with Netflix to stream some of the provider’s original shows, something which may put it ahead of its competition in the region, which includes Alibaba-owned streaming platform Youku Tudou.
iQiyi has yet to turn a profit since it started in 2010, posting a net loss of 3.7 billion yuan for 2017. This was larger than the 3.1 billion yuan loss reported the previous year, despite a 55 percent jump in revenue.
The platform has now applied to the US Securities and Exchange Commission to file a public offering worth $1.5 on the Nasdaq, adding that it plans to use half of the net proceeds from the offering to expand and enhance its content offerings.