SPH among beneficiaries of US$50bil Coupang IPO

Potential market: A file picture showing an employee scanning a pack of cherry tomatoes at a Coupang fulfillment centre in Bucheon, South Korea. Coupang was valued at US$5bil in June 2015, after SoftBank agreed to invest US$1bil into it. — Bloomberg

SINGAPORE: Two Singapore-based investors of South Korean e-commerce firm Coupang – Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and the family office of Trafigura’s Asia-Pacific chief Tan Chin Hwee – could see strong returns on their investment if the SoftBank-backed firm goes through with its planned US$50bil (S$66bil) initial public offering (IPO).

SPH, which publishes The Straits Times and The Business Times, invested an undisclosed sum in Coupang in mid-2014 through a special purpose vehicle.