Ping An Fintech Vehicle OneConnect Plans to List in New York by as Soon as September: Domestic Reports

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Ping An fintech subsidiary OneConnect (壹账通) plans to list in New York instead of Hong Kong according to sources speaking to Chinese media.

While at the start of the year OneConnect unveiled plans for an IPO in Hong Kong, domestic sources now claim that the fintech company hopes to list in New York in the hope of obtaining a higher valuation of around $8 billion.

OneConnect previously raised $7.5 billion via its series A round of funding at the start of 2018, with Japan’s SBI and SoftBank serving as lead investors.

OneConnect was established in December 2015 as Ping An Group’s fintech services subsidiary, providing a range of “smart services” to financial institutions including banks, insurers and investment funds.

As of the end of March 2019 OneConnect had provided its services to over 3,300 financial institutions, including nearly 600 banks, over 70 insurers, and more than 2600 other non-bank financial institutions.

Data from Tianyancha indicates that OneConnect currently has four shareholders, including Shenzhen Pingan Fintech Consulting Co., Ltd. (深圳平安金融科技咨询有限公司) (44.3%), Urumqi Guangfengqi Equity Investment Limited Partnership Enterprise (乌鲁木齐广丰旗股权投资有限合伙企业) (26.15%), Shenzhen Lanxin Enterprise Management Co,.Ltd. (深圳兰炘企业管理有限公司) (22.20%) and Shanghai Jinningsheng Enterprise Management Partnership Enterprise (上海金甯晟企业管理合伙企业) (7.35%).

OneConnect itself has holdings in three other companies domestically – Shenzhen Xinxuan Network Technology Co., Ltd. (深圳鑫楦网络科技有限公司), Shanghai OneConnect Fintech Co., Ltd. (上海壹账通金融科技有限公司) and Shenzhenshi Kechuang Insurance Gonggu Co., Ltd. (深圳市科创保险公估有限公司), as well as operations abroad in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Indonesia.

In August 2018 OneConnect established a joint-venture with SBI in Japan, while the following month it became a technical services provider for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s blockchain trade finance platform.

More recently at the end of 2018 OneConnect launched a Singaporean subsidiary, followed by an Indonesian subsidiary at the start of 2019, to provide fintech services to the ASEAN region.

OneConnect is considered to be the fourth unicorn cultivated by the Ping An Group, following the successes of Lufax, Ping An Good Doctor and Ping An Yibao Keji.