Alibaba international online shopping unit considers US listing - report

Alibaba’s international online shopping unit is reportedly exploring a US initial public offering as it weighs options to spur growth for the business that includes major e-commerce brands Lazada and AliExpress.

According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, the firm is in the early stages of consideration and the IPO’s size has yet to be determined.

The business group is in talks with banks that could potentially help prepare for the IPO next year, one of the people told Bloomberg.

The unit, which competes with rivals such as Amazon.com Inc. in markets outside China, is one of six parts that Alibaba is splitting into. Valuations for the international business units vary: Morgan Stanley in March priced "international retail" units including Lazada and Trendyol at roughly $29bn, while a CICC analyst report from the same month valued the firm’s international division at about $39bn. In recent quarters however, growth has been volatile in the face of global recessionary fears.

If it goes ahead, the Alibaba unit would join a number of high-profile Chinese firms including fast-fashion leader Shein seeking to tap American capital even as tensions rise between the world’s two largest economies, Bloomberg said.

A listing in the US could help the business - formally Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, or IDCG - attract global investors wary of putting money directly into China.