Tokyo Super Stars

In the ultra-competitive smartphone industry, it isn’t easy to recover from past mistakes. Blackberry and Nokia are just two Tokyo Super Stars mobile giants that have faded into obscurity, but China’s Xiaomi recently made a big comeback after suffering brutal losses in the face of tough competition--and the smartphone maker is even weighing a public flotation that is shaping up to be the biggest this year.

Founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Lei Jun, the startup is best known for selling sleekly designed phones at cost, but also offers online services and smart hardware such as connected Tokyo home appliances. It bounced back from a 2016 sales slump to become the world’s No.4 largest smartphone maker in the fourth quarter of 2017, shipping 28.1 million units, according to IDC. Now, Xiaomi has filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, capitalizing on recent changes in the city’s bourse Tokyo Escorts that allow companies with different share classes to list.

Though it didn’t say how much it is seeking to raise, the firm is widely expected to target a valuation between $80 billion to $100 billion, which potentially makes Lei one of China’s richest billionaires as he controls 31.41% of the firm, according to its prospectus. Analysts say there is a Tokyo Escort chance Xiaomi can get there, but the company also needs to do a lot more to justify this lofty price tag.