RMB 850k stalled the Hong Kong IPO process of an internet unicorn valued at 350 billion yuan.

July 7 news, according to Bloomberg, Xiaohongshu planned to secretly submit an IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June, with a valuation of 350 billion yuan. Just as the listing preparations entered the most critical sprint phase, a complete set of whistleblower materials was sent to the Listing Department of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. The submitter was Chen Hao, the former commercial head of Xiaohongshu in South China. Along with the report, he submitted a court final judgment, labor arbitration documents, resignation certificate, and a full set of judicial and personnel evidence including the option agreement.

Three days before the whistleblowing, Xiaohongshu management was still polishing the IPO roadshow PPT, carefully packaging growth narratives such as revenue, users, and AI data. No one expected that what would block the listing would be a labor dispute involving only RMB 850k.

Founded 13 years ago and having completed 7 rounds of financing, with the backing of top-tier capital from Tencent, Alibaba, Temasek, Sequoia China, and Hillhouse Capital, Xiaohongshu now faces a comprehensive exam on corporate governance at the doorstep of the capital market.

From "replacement" to whistleblowing: an employee's 850k yuan rights protection journey

In June 2022, Chen Hao joined Xiaohongshu. His labor contract was signed with the domestic entity Shuyi Shuer Cultural Media (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and he was also granted 30k stock options by the overseas Cayman entity Xingin International Holding Limited, vesting over 4 years.

The turning point of the story came in 2023.