NEW YORK, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Limited ("Kingsoft Cloud") (NASDAQ: KC) jumped 40% on its Nasdaq debut on May 8, the first major U.S. IPO by a Chinese company in recent months. Tiger Brokers (NZ) Limited ("TBNZ"), a wholly owned subsidiary of UP Fintech Holding Limited (NASDAQ: TIGR) (together with other affiliates, "UP Fintech") served as a member of Kingsoft Cloud's selling group, assisting it receive subscription orders close to $100 million, with sizable orders coming from institutional investors, demonstrating UP Fintech's growing capability to assist China-based companies list in key markets.
Founded in 2012, Kingsoft Cloud is now the largest independent cloud service provider in China, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan. Leveraging its industry insights and technological expertise, Kingsoft Cloud offers public cloud services to customers in various sectors, including online gaming, video, AI services, e-commerce, and education, among others. Despite the uncertainty from the Coronavirus, Kingsoft Cloud in total raised over $500 million by offering 30 million ADS priced at $17 each in the IPO. The shares closed at $23.84 last Friday, giving it a market capitalization of roughly $4.8 billion.
Serving as a selling group member in the IPO, UP Fintech offered a comprehensive range of services to support Kingsoft Cloud's listing, including connecting the company to a wide spectrum of institutional and retail investors in both the U.S. and Asia.
Through its proprietary trading platform, UP Fintech has built a large retail investor base to whom it may distribute the shares of new issuers. UP Fintech coordinated closely with Kingsoft Cloud to devise a strategy to increase retail investor understanding of the firm's background, business model, and financials. By leveraging its loyal and engaged customer base, UP Fintech was able to assist Kingsoft Cloud generate substantial investor interest in its offering.
Mr. DJ Guo, Head of Investment Banking and Partner of UP Fintech, stated, "Over just four days, thousands of global Chinese retail investors participated in Kingsoft Cloud's IPO via UP Fintech's platform."
Yulin Wang, CEO of Kingsoft Cloud noted, "Our roadshow lasted only four days and we were on a tight schedule. However, we received tremendous support from UP Fintech. Not only did they tell our story to thousands of retail investors, but they also helped us drum up interest from institutional investors with their extensive network of contacts."
"This listing comes during a difficult global environment, and we hope this IPO will help to increase investor confidence in the wide range of Chinese ADRs," said Guo.
UP Fintech started to expand its institutional business, particularly investment banking and equity underwriting, in the TMT space in late 2017. The firm has participated in many high-profile Chinese Tech IPOs, including those of e-commerce giant Pinduoduo (PDD), video streaming platform iQIYI (IQ), and video sharing website Bilibili (BILI). In 2019, a total of 32 Chinese companies were listed on U.S. exchanges and UP Fintech served as an underwriter in 12 of these IPOs with a client list that included 36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR), Canaan Inc. (CAN), and Ruhnn Holding Limited. (RUHN). UP Fintech was the top U.S. IPO underwriter for China-based issuers by deal count among brokerages in 2019.
Furthermore, in October 2019, UP Fintech's wholly-owned subsidiary, US Tiger Securities, Inc. received approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") for conducting investment banking businesses, including underwriting, private placements, mergers and acquisitions, as well as selling group participant services. This approval allows UP Fintech to better serve client firms by strengthening local distribution channels and expanding its portfolio of corporate services. UP Fintech has a growing global footprint with 21 licenses and authorizations in multiple jurisdictions, including Singapore, New Zealand, the U.S. and Australia. In the future, the firm will continue to augment its capabilities to comprehensively serve investors and issuers.
About UP Fintech Holding Limited
UP Fintech Holding Limited is a leading online brokerage firm focusing on global Chinese investors. The Company's proprietary mobile and online trading platform enables investors to trade in equities and other financial instruments on multiple exchanges around the world. The Company offers innovative products and services as well as a superior user experience to customers through its "mobile first" strategy, which enables it to better serve and retain current customers as well as attract new ones. The Company offers customers comprehensive brokerage and value-added services, including trade order placement and execution, margin financing, IPO subscription, ESOP management, investor education, community discussion and customer support. The Company's proprietary infrastructure and advanced technology are able to support trades across multiple currencies, multiple markets, multiple products, multiple execution venues and multiple clearinghouses.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other statements, the business outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as the Company's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Forms 20-F and 6-K, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual performance and /or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company's growth strategies; trends and competition in global financial markets; the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic; and governmental policies relating to the Company's industry and general economic conditions in China and other countries. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake, and specifically declines, any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/up-fintechs-subsidiary-served-as-a-selling-group-member-in-kingsoft-clouds-ipo-301057476.html
