Malaysia-headquartered used car platform Carsome Group is said to be delaying its dual listing plans in Singapore and the US on concerns that deteriorating macroeconomic conditions could dent its valuation, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Carsome, which is also Malaysia’s first tech unicorn, has halted work on the planned offerings that were set for this year, the people reportedly said. Carsome may revive the first-time share sales next year if markets improve, they added.

Carsome has yet to respond to TechNode Global‘s query on the matter.

Quoting sources, DealStreetAsia reported in April that Carsome is said to be raising $300-400 million at a valuation of about $2 billion for its upcoming IPO on NASDAQ.

Carsome is said to have confidentially filed for the IPO with NASDAQ. Carsome is also considering a dual listing at the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) too, a move that is said to have been encouraged by one of its key investors Temasek-backed 65 Equity Partners, according to the report.

Carsome announced in March the acquisition of 51 percent stake in Singapore integrated automotive firm CarTimes Automobile Pte Ltd (CarTimes).

In January, Carsome completed its $290 million Series E round, increasing the company’s valuation to approximately $1.7 billion. The financing round was jointly led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), 65 Equity Partners (65EP) and Seatown Private Capital Master Fund (Seatown). The round also saw strong participation from investors such as Mediatek, Sunway, Gokongwei Group, YTL Group, and Taiwan Mobile.

Carsome has become Malaysia’s first tech unicorn as part of a share-swap deal that take a stake in iCar Asia in July last year.

Founded in 2015, Carsome provides end-to-end solutions to consumers and used car dealers, from car inspection to ownership transfer to financing, promising a service that is “trusted, convenient and efficient”. It transacts more than 100,000 cars on an annualized basis, which translates to around $1 billion in revenue. It has expanded into Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

In Southeast Asia, Carsome competes with Singapore-based Carro, Indonesia’s OLX Auto and Carousell Auto Group.

According to Bloomberg, higher interest rates, slowing economic growth and geopolitical tensions have hurt market sentiment and weighed on first-time share sales. Since the beginning of the year, companies have raised about $101 billion through IPOs globally this year, down from $338 billion in the same period in 2021, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

Malaysia’s Carsome to list on NASDAQ at $2B valuation – report