November 23, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] E-commerce firm Coupang has received around US$400 million from several foreign investors including BlackRock and Fidelity, according to news reports on April 17.

The company reportedly received the funds through its US unit, which owns a 100 percent stake in Coupang Korea. The new funds come ahead of Coupang’s potential initial public offering in New York before 2020.

BlackRock had earlier invested around US$300 million in 2014. The recent investments reflect the investors’ expectations in Coupang’s growth, despite its mounting operating losses. 

Early this month, the Korean e-commerce giant announced that its sales jumped 40 percent on-year in 2017 to reach 2.68 trillion won (US$2.49 billion), but at the same time, its operating loss widened to 638.8 billion won from 560 billion won.

“We cannot confirm any details about the recent investments,” a Coupang spokesperson told The Investor. Addressing reports on its IPO plans, he confirmed that it is aiming for a NASDAQ listing but declined to state a specific timeframe.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)