Asian travel platform Klook is filing for a New York IPO

The company, founded by Ethan Lin and Eric Nok Fah in 2014, claims to be the largest experience booking platform in Asia in terms of total transaction volume, with 65 million experiences booked in the 12 months ending September 30.

Klook revealed in its IPO prospectus that it generated revenue of $417.1 million in 2024, an increase of 24%. However, the company is not profitable, losing $99.3 million last year.

Klook is working with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “KLK.” The platform did not share details about the number of shares that will be offered, nor their price.

The company competes with other Asian travel platforms such as China’s Trip.com and Indonesia’s Traveloka to offer tours, attraction tickets and transportation options in 4,000 destinations around the world. Other global competitors include GetYourGuide and Booking.com in Europe.

Klook is seeking to go public as tourism booms around the world, with travelers eager to go on holiday after years of coronavirus-era lockdowns. According to a May report by the World Travel and Tourism Council, the travel sector is expected to generate $11.7 trillion in 2025, making up 10.3% of global GDP.

Adventure in the American stock exchanges

Klook is listed in New York amid tense relations between the US and China.

China-based companies have long gone to US stock exchanges to raise money, given the country’s deeper capital pool. However, in recent years, the United States has raised the possibility of delisting Chinese companies from US stock exchanges if they fail to comply with the country’s auditing standards. Since taking office, the Trump administration has asked officials to determine whether foreign companies listed on their markets adhere to “adequate financial auditing standards.”

In its IPO prospectus, Klook listed addresses in both Singapore and the Chinese city of Hong Kong as its principal executive offices. However, the company cited concerns about delisting as a risk factor in its filing.

Despite this broader uncertainty, a few Chinese companies have ventured onto US exchanges. WeRide and Pony AI, two Chinese self-driving car startups, debuted on the NASDAQ in late 2024 — only to follow up, almost exactly a year later, with simultaneous debuts in the Chinese city of Hong Kong last week.