Jack Ma's Alibaba Among Money Again: its Grocery Arm Freshippo Prepares For IPO

Alibaba Group Holding Limited's BABA grocery chain Freshippo is preparing for a Hong Kong initial public offering.
Freshippo is working with banks, including China International Capital Corp Ltd CNICF and Morgan Stanley MS, to help prepare for the first-time share sale of the unit, known in Chinese as Hema, Bloomberg reports.
The company is still considering the size of Freshippo's IPO and its target valuation.
In January 2022, Freshippo weighed raising funds at a valuation of $10 billion. Since then, valuations of privately-held companies globally have fallen as stocks plunged and investors shied away from riskier assets.
Freshippo is among the first of several Alibaba units in the pipeline to be listed after Alibaba shared plans to split up its $250 billion business in March.
Cainiao Network Technology Co, Alibaba's $20 billion logistics arm, is set for an IPO as soon as the end of 2023.
Freshippo offers Walmart Inc WMT Sam's Club-like supermarket experience with a dine-in restaurant and 30-minute home delivery. Its grocery brand Hema Xiansheng turned profitable in 2022.
Price Action: BABA shares traded lower by 1.95% at $93.63 on the last check Wednesday.