Chinese social e-commerce platform Yunji sets terms for its US IPO

NEW YORK - Yunji, a Chinese e-commerce site that uses a social platform to promote its products, announced terms for its initial public offering (IPO) on the US stock market Monday.

The company plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol "YJ," by offering 13.5 million American depositary shares, or ADSs, at a price range of $11 to 13, according to its prospectus filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Each ADS represents 10 Class A ordinary shares of the company, said the filing.

Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan and CICC (China International Capital Corporation) are the joint bookrunners on the deal.

The company estimated it would receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately $145.8 million, or approximately $168.4 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full.

These estimates are based upon an assumed initial public offering price of $12 per ADS, which is the midpoint of the price range.

The Chinese e-commerce platform said it intended to use the proceeds of its IPO mainly in four aspects, including expanding business operations, enhancing technological capabilities, improving its fulfillment facilities as well as general corporate purposes.

Founded in 2015, the company based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, generates revenues primarily from selling products on its platform to users, including both members and non-members. As of Dec 31, 2018, it had accumulated 7.4 million members, according to the company.

Yunji booked about $1.9 billion in sales for the 12 months that ended Dec 31, 2018.

China's online retail industry has experienced a tremendous growth in recent years. The online penetration rate of the retail market increased from 10.3 percent in 2015 to 17.0 percent in 2017, and is expected to further increase to 24.4 percent in 2022, the company said in its prospectus, citing statistics from China Internet Network Information Center.