Baidu's video service iQiyi files for US IPO

Chinese video streaming service iQiyi, a unit of Baidu, has filed for an initial public offering of up to $1.5 billion with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company plans to list its American Depository Shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol "IQ".

Logo of iQiyi [File photo: IC]

Having been providing Netflix-like services, iQiyi boasts over 50 million premium users and more than 420 million monthly average users on mobile devices, making it China's largest video service provider as of the end of 2017.

iQiyi's revenue has been growing since 2015 and has been narrowing down its net deficits, an indication of effective use of funds. 

Upon the completion of the offering, Baidu, which controls a 69.9% stake of iQiyi, will continue to be its controlling shareholder, iQiyi said in its IPO filing.

According to the filing, Baidu has been providing technical, infrastructure, and financial support to the company. But iQiyi said it wishes to reduce its financial dependence on Baidu as the company grows.