Sea to float on New York Stock Exchange , hopes to raise $1bn despite problems in Taiwan

Singapore tech unicorn Sea will float on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, with the aim of raising over $1bn.

Sea is an online game and ecommerce business and has finished a funding round with $1bn prior to the listing.

The billion-dollar start-up had previously announced plans to issue an initial public offering (IPO) and has now priced its stock at $15 per share, whereas previously it had stated an amount between $12 and $14 would be charged.

If all available shares are sold, Sea will raise over $1bn.

See also:

Softbank to add to $100bn Vision Fund 

Unicorn Tujia raises $300mn 

Business Review Asia - October edition! 

Currently, Tencent owns 39.8% of Sea, and has stated it will potentially subscribe up to $100mn of shares in this IPO.

The last significant IPO on the NYSE of a south-east Asian company was that of Malaysian payments firm MOL in 2014, which was worth $300mn.

However, Sea has run into trouble in Taiwan, a market which accounts for about 33% of its current revenue. Indeed, in the first six months of 2017, 29.1% of Sea’s revenue was from Taiwan and in particular its Shopee online marketplace and gaming platform, Harena.

The tech unicorn is being investigated over allegations it has Chinese links which should have been disclosed to Taiwan.

Taiwanese law requires companies with over 30% Chinese ownership to be reviewed by the government if they wish to practise in Taiwan.