ByteDance Ropes In Former Xiaomi Head As Finance Chief: Report

TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd. hired former Xiaomi Corp’s XIACF Chew Shou Zi as its CFO, amid speculations over the company’s initial public offering (IPO), Bloomberg reports.

• Chew, who supervised Xiaomi’s IPO and smartphone international expansion as the CFO, tweeted about his recent joining in Singapore.
• Xiaomi had earlier announced his departure in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
• ByteDance had been exploring plans to list some of its businesses, including TikTok’s Chinese twin Douyin in Hong Kong.
• The company’s revenue more than doubled to about $35 billion in 2020 amid intense competition and Donald Trump’s attempts to ban it over security concerns. 
• U.S. President Joe Biden’s new administration had paused a government lawsuit that could have led to the de facto ban on TikTok’s use in the U.S.
• The start-up’s revenue had more than quadrupled from just $8 billion in 2018 and now posts sales on par with the likes of Nike Inc NKE and Coca-Cola Co KO.
• Earlier this year, ByteDance’s fundraising valued it at $180 billion.
• Price action: XIACF shares traded lower by 2.94% at $3.3 on the last check Wednesday.