Business
High Interest Rates Prompt Chinese Digital Platform Qifa to Delay $18.9 Million Moscow IPO
The initial public offering (IPO) in Moscow of Qifa, a Chinese digital platform, has been postponed due to soaring interest rates. Qifa, which specializes in trading between Russia and China, had intended to generate $18.9 million from this Moscow listing.
On Tuesday, Sun announced that the initial plan was to launch the 1.7 billion-rouble (equivalent to US$18.9 million) Initial Public Offering (IPO) in Moscow in August, with the objective of offloading approximately 20% of Qifa's shares.
"Currently, it's either October or November. This is following the significant increase in the principal interest rate and when the overall situation in the stock market turned challenging," Sun conveyed to Reuters while at Russia's Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. "Hence, for the sake of our prospective investors, we chose to delay it."
Qifa reported a 75% increase in its annual revenue in 2023, reaching 5.7 billion roubles. The majority of this income came from the sale of consumer items like footwear and apparel.
In July, the Central Bank of Russia raised its principal interest rate by 2% to reach 18%, a peak not seen in over two years. The bank promised to persist with these stringent measures until the inflation rates in their overly robust economy are reduced.
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