South Korean e-commerce company Coupang raises $4.6bn in IPO

South Korean e-commerce company Coupang has raised $4.6bn in an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange this week.

The company’s IPO is the largest on a US exchange since ride-hailing app Uber raised $8.1bn in 2019, according to a report by Bloomberg. The offering is also the largest by any Asian company in New York since Alibaba’s 2014 $25bn listing, which was the largest ever in the US, reports Bloomberg.

On Wednesday, Coupang increased its IPO price from a range of $32 – $34 to $35.

The e-commerce company’s net retail sales increased 90.9% year-over-year to $11.05bn in the year ended December 31, 2020. Growth was driven by an 18.2% increase in active customers in 2020, in addition to a 61.5% growth in net retail sales per active customer during the year. The company credits the increase in part to changes in consumer behavior caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seoul-based Coupang was founded in 2010 and retails a range of categories, including homeware, beauty, fashion, food and electronics.