Chinese logistics firm ZTO Express plans U.S. IPO

Logistics company ZTO Express is planning a U.S. initial public offering, that could be the biggest U.S. listing by a Chinese company since e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's $25 billion IPO, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Shanghai-based ZTO Express could raise between $1 billion and $2 billion by later this year or early 2017, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Logistics company ZTO Express is planning a U.S. initial public offering that could be the biggest U.S. listing by a Chinese company since ecommerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's $25 billion IPO, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Shanghai-based ZTO Express could raise between $1 billion and $2 billion by later this year or early 2017, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company's potential listing could match the $2 billion IPO of Alibaba's rival, JD.com Inc, in May 2014, the WSJ said.

ZTO Express, one of the partners in Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao Network, is also planning an up to $1 billion IPO in Hong Kong in 2016, IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, reported on Friday.

The company has invited banks to pitch for a role on the Hong Kong IPO, with a deadline for the bids set for Feb. 25.

Chinese companies are flocking to the U.S. IPO market in their biggest numbers since 2010, drawn by soaring valuations for tech start-ups.

ZTO Express, founded in 2002, serves 18,000 of China's 40,000 counties and aims to reach 35,000 within the next five years, according to its website.

The company was not available for comment outside business hours.