Chinese online retailer Jingdong Mall is considering a share sale in the US next year that could be among the biggest internet IPOs.
中国在线零售商京东商城意欲明年在美国出售股份,以此成为最大的互联网公开募股公司。
Jingdong Mall sells everything from electronics to fashion accessories
The company, also known as 360buy.com, could raise between $4bn and $5bn (£2.5bn to £3.1bn).
Jingdong Mall has not yet commented publicly on its plans, although they have been widely reported.
It would be the latest in a series of Chinese internet companies trying to sell shares to US investors.
The company's plan to raise up to $5bn, which was first reported in IFR, would make it the largest initial public offering (IPO) from an internet company, beating Google's record of $1.9bn in 2004.
'Tainted' stocks?
Bankers in Beijing are understood to be meeting with Jingdong Mall next week to discuss the share sale.
However, the US market has not turned out to be a sure bet for many Chinese internet companies in recent months.
The likes of e-commerce site DangDang and social networking site Renren saw spikes in share price on their debuts, but have since seen interest wane(衰退) .
Another concern is that some US investors are being cautious after a series of fraud and accounting-related scandals were discovered in US-listed Chinese companies.
"There's a bit of taint on Chinese internet stocks right now, but I don't think it's a well deserved taint," said Michael Clendenin, managing director of RedTech Advisors in Shanghai.
He said that one or two frauds should not tar the whole market.
"The smart money will understand that the opportunity here vis-a-vis the reward far outweighs the risk," he said.