CHINESE startup Xiaohongshu, or “Little Red Book,” is weighing a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) to raise at least US$500 million, after putting its U.S. listing plans on hold, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, which calls itself a lifestyle content platform, is working with advisers and could file an application for a Hong Kong IPO as soon as this year, the people said. A listing could even raise as much as US$1 billion depending on the market, the people said. Deliberations are still ongoing and details such as fundraising size and timing could change, the people added. A representative for Xiaohongshu said the company maintains regular communication with stakeholders, but that they do not have any specific IPO plans at the moment. Xiaohongshu revisits its U.S. listing plan after China proposed new rules for firms going public overseas. Among them is a requirement for all companies holding data on more than 1 million users to submit to a cybersecurity review, one of the reasons Xiaohongshu paused its U.S. float, Bloomberg News reported in July. Xiaohongshu was seeking a valuation of about US$6 billion in a funding round last year, Bloomberg News has reported. Other firms that are considering moving their U.S. IPOs to Hong Kong include on-demand logistics and delivery firm Lalamove and artificial intelligence-chip startup Horizon Robotics Inc. Chinese audio startup Ximalaya Inc. is the first company since Didi to have formally moved its IPO from the United States to Hong Kong, as it submitted listing documents last month. Xiaohongshu was founded in 2013 as an online community that recommends overseas e-commerce sites for users in China. It later entered e-commerce and evolved into a social media platform where users share their daily life moments through videos and pictures on topics ranging from skincare to food and travel.(SD-Agencies) | 