Xiaomi files for IPO in Hong Kong, aims for $100bn value
Beijing, May 3: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has officially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong that aims to raise $10 billion in a sale that may value the company at $100 billion.
According to a report in South China Morning Post on Thursday, the move "would catapult Xiaomi past Baidu and JD.com to become the third-biggest Chinese technology company by value, after Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group".
"At $10 billion, Xiaomi's IPO would also be the 15th biggest of all time, or the fourth-largest in Hong Kong," it added.
According to the regulatory filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange, Xiaomi also reported a revenue of $18 billion and a gross profit of $2.3 billion in 2017.
The company is currently at the fourth position in the smartphone market globally, behind Samsung, Apple and Huawei.
Xiaomi, which means millet in Chinese, will use 30 per cent of its IPO proceeds to develop the ecosystem of its technology business, especially in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT), the report noted.
In the first quarter of 2018, Xiaomi with over 51 per cent growth was at fifth spot in China, Counterpoint Research reported. Xiaomi was the fastest growing brand in China during the quarter.
The growth was driven by Xiaomi's expansion in the offline segment with aggressive promotions. It also refreshed its Redmi Note series and now has a very strong product portfolio in the mid segment, giving more choice to budget-conscious consumers.
In the first quarter of 2018, Xiaomi once again topped the Indian smartphone market, reporting an over 31 per cent market share -- a whopping 155 per cent annual shipment growth.
Xiaomi Chairman, CEO and Founder Lei Jun in April announced that the company will forever limit the net profit margin after tax for the entire hardware sales -- including smartphones, Internet of Things (IoT) and lifestyle products -- to a maximum of five per cent.
Lei promised its users that the company's hardware business will have an overall net profit margin that will never exceed five per cent.
"If the margin crosses five per cent, then we will find a way to return the excess above five per cent to our users," he said in an email to all Xiaomi employees.
"If we sell our products at close to cost and return value to our users, then we can earn the long-term support of our users. Aiming for large volumes with small profit margins will still result in suitable hardware profits for us in the long term," the Xiaomi CEO added.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
