Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten Group has announced that its consolidated subsidiary Rakuten Bank has applied for listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The firm did not reveal other details of the initial public offering (IPO) such as the scheduled listing date and the size and type of offering.
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Rakuten had first announced its plans to list its bank in September 2021 in a bid to grow its ecosystem and compete with rivals including Amazon.
As part of its ecosystem, the firm claims to have developed more than 70 services, available in Japan and overseas, in several areas such as commerce, travel, and digital content, credit cards, banking, securities.
Rakuten said: “We believe that through the listing of Rakuten Bank’s shares, Rakuten Bank will be able to carry out management with a more autonomous perspective and to consider various growth and financial strategies, including its own financing.
“Expansion of the Rakuten ecosystem is important for the further sustainable growth of the group, and when preparing for the listing of Rakuten Bank’s shares, the company assumes that, even after the listing, Rakuten Bank will remain an important consolidated subsidiary of the company, in particular in developing the group’s fintech business.”
Rakuten, which is also building a mobile network, currently has a market capitalisation of around $7.2bn.
The group, whose shares have slumped 46% in 2022 so far, is also looking to list its securities business.
