Indonesia's J&T Express aims to raise at least $1 bln in Hong Kong IPO - sources

By Fanny Potkin and Scott Murdoch

SINGAPORE, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Indonesian courier services startup J&T Express aims to carry out a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) in the second half of 2023 that could raise at least $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The proposed share sale is the second attempt J&T Express has made at listing in Hong Kong. Plans for a 2022 IPO were put on hold due to volatile financial market conditions at the time.

The deal could be one of the largest IPOs in Hong Kong this year. New share sales in the city plunged 74% to $7.4 billion in 2022 from $28.17 billion in 2021, Refinitiv data showed, amid a global slowdown in capital markets as a result of rising interest rates, high inflation and ongoing geopolitical tensions. J&T Express, launched to serve Southeast Asia's booming e-commerce market, is aiming for a valuation of at least $20 billion, the level reached in its last private funding round in November 2021, one of the people with knowledge of the matter said.

At that valuation, the company is considering selling 5% to 10% of its shares, which would make an IPO worth between $1 and $2 billion, the sources said. It wasn't immediately clear what the proceeds would be used for.

J&T Express has not yet made a final decision to go ahead with listing, and the deal will be dependent on financial market conditions, the people said, declining to be identified because they were not permitted to speak to media discussing confidential information.

In response to questions from Reuters, a spokeswoman for J&T Express said that the company does "not comment on market rumours or speculation".

The company was launched in Indonesia in 2015 by two senior executives of Chinese smartphone maker Oppo.

The founders used their experience in distribution to build up a massive logistics network across Southeast Asia targeting e-commerce operators.

The company entered China in 2020, and Latin America and the Middle East in 2021. (Reporting by Fanny Potkin, Scott Murdoch and Kane Wu; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)