Chinese social media and e-commerce app Xiaohongshu has been valued at around $18 billion in a round of funding including a cash injection from a Singaporean state-owned investor, reports Caixin. The new investment comes as rumors abound about a potential Hong Kong IPO, after plans to list in the US were scrapped amid a heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Officially, the firm has made no comment on the listing plan, with a spokesperson telling Caixin only that Xiaohongshu was in “regular communication with financial stakeholders.” Also saying that “we do not have any specific IPO plans at the moment.”
Xiaohongshu declined to comment on either the funding or the valuation, and reports of the figures have varied. One source with knowledge of the matter put the fundraising figure for the most recent round, which closed last month, at $500 million.