Milk tea chain Bawang Chaji filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) on Tuesday, seeking to be listed on Nasdaq under the stock code "CHA." The IPO filing comes as the company prepares to open its first U.S. store this spring at Westfield Mall at Century City Plaza in Los Angeles.


According to a regulatory filing, since its establishment in 2017, the company has opened more than 6,400 teahouses in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand as of December 31 last year.

BawangChaji said it will achieve revenue of US$1.7 billion and net profit of US$344.5 million in 2024.

Inspired by the success of international coffee companies, founder and CEO Zhang Junjie created the chain to modernize tea drinking, according to a regulatory filing.

Looking to the future, according to the company's website, Bawang Tea Ji hopes to "serve tea lovers in 100 countries, create 300,000 jobs around the world, and provide 15 billion cups of freshly brewed tea every year."