OPay Seeks To Revive Terminated IPO Amid Crunch Talks To Appease China
OPay, the Nigeria-focused fintech backed by SoftBank, pulled its USD 304 M New York listing hours after pricing it last week. The reason was an eleventh-hour inquiry from a Chinese regulator, despite the company having no operations or revenue in mainland China.
On the surface, the withdrawal looks like a decisive blow to one of Africa’s most anticipated tech listings. But according to Bloomberg, three people familiar with the matter say the discussions are not over. Talks between OPay and Chinese authorities are ongoing, though it remains unclear whether the regulatory concerns can be resolved. Insiders suggest the IPO is not dead, only halted and contingent on a negotiation that few outside the deal can see.
OPay is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Singapore. Nigeria accounted for 88.1% of its revenue in 2025. Its only link to China is founder Zhou Yahui, who also founded Kunlun Tech and was part of a consortium that acquired a stake in Opera in 2016.
Before the listing, OPay’s legal advisers concluded it did not need approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission because it had no mainland revenue and its operating assets sat outside China. The prospectus nonetheless warned that uncertainty remained over how Beijing’s overseas listing rules could be interpreted. That uncertainty has now materialised. Chinese regulators are asserting jurisdiction over a company that, by the letter of its own filings, should fall outside their remit.
The stakes extend beyond OPay’s USD 4 B valuation. Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest lender by assets, signed a subscription agreement to invest up to USD 200 M in OPay. Completion is explicitly tied to the IPO closing. If the offering does not complete, the subscription agreement does not proceed to closing. The halted listing therefore freezes a strategic partnership that OPay had framed as a gateway to expanding across the continent. A revival of the IPO would unlock both the public capital and the balance-sheet backing of a major African bank.
OPay’s revenue reached USD 467 M in the first half of 2026, up from USD 197 M a year earlier. Its 50 million monthly active users and dominant position in Nigeria’s digital payments market are not in question. Yet a single regulatory inquiry from a jurisdiction where the company does not operate was enough to stop the clock.
“The withdrawal should not be interpreted as a reflection of its business performance, financial condition, operational integrity or regulatory standing,” OPay said in a statement.
The ongoing talks give OPay a path back. If the matter is resolved, the listing could be repriced and relaunched, and Standard Bank’s investment could still close. If it is not, the message for other Africa-focused founders with Chinese links will be that the reach of Beijing’s regulatory perimeter is longer than their operating footprint. The outcome of the OPay IPO saga could shape how African tech assesses its exposure to forces far beyond its borders.
