Chinese chemical e-commerce platform Molecular Data files for US IPO

Molecular Data, which offers e-commerce and software solutions to the Chinese chemical industry, filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the US stock market.

The company plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "MKD," with an expectation to raise up to $70 million, according to its prospectus filed Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

"We are the largest chemical e-commerce platform in China in terms of GMV (gross merchandise volume) in 2017 and 2018," the company said in its filing, citing a report by the market research firm Frost & Sullivan.

AMTD Global Markets, Fosun Hani Securities and Boustead Securities are the joint book runners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.

The Shanghai-based company said the net proceeds of this offering will mainly be used to invest in logistics and warehousing capabilities, enhance its technology and retain qualified personnel, and make strategic acquisition and cross-border investment.

The number of Chinese firms listed on the US exchanges has increased in recent years. As of Friday, the S&P US Listed China 50 index, which is designed to track the performance of the 50 largest Chinese companies listed on US exchanges by total market cap, stood at 3,057.29, marking a 0.33-percent increase for the month-to-date returns and a 33.43-percent gain for the year-to-date returns.