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Meituan-Dianping, a Chinese startup that considers itself to be an Amazon for lifestyle services, will debut as a public company Thursday on Hong Kong’s stock exchange. It’s expected to launch with a valuation as high as USD 55 billion. In 2017, the company drew about two-thirds of its income from carry-out food delivery and other restaurant-related services for its 320 million transacting users. But Meituan’s hotel-booking business is its second-largest business. In a June 2017 interview, CEO Wang Xing claimed that “the number of nights that have been booked surpasses those of Ctrip.” In the first quarter of 2018, Meituan said it was responsible for 33.6% of domestic hotel room nights booked online in China, compared to what it claimed was a 33% share by Ctrip — apparently defined as the Ctrip brand separate from sister brand Qunar. Booking Holdings was at about 15%, and Expedia Group was at about 12%, according to Meitun’s calculations — which are impossible to verify. In the second quarter of 2018, Meituan ranked tops by both order volume and room night volume — exceeding the combined room nights registered on Ctrip, Qunar, and Tongcheng-eLong, according to consultancy Trust Data. Meituan didn’t reveal official figures, however.
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