(Yicai Global) Oct. 30 -- Ant Financial-backed Danke Apartment has become the second Chinese long-term property rental platform this month to file for an initial public offering of shares in New York.

The Beijing-based company filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week to raise up to USD100 million on the New York Stock Exchange. That amount is often stated as a placeholder for IPOs and may change later.

Formed in 2015, Danke Apartment is the industry leader, offering shared and exclusive apartments to high-end white-collar workers. It's a business model resembling that of Q&K, which filed for a first-time share issue in New York earlier this month. Danke has concluded a number of fundraising rounds and expanded quickly to more than 400,000 in 13 major Chinese cities from 2,434 rooms in Beijing.

China's long-term apartment rental sector has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years thanks to younger people's increasing spending power and government support. But some firms have folded due to inherent risks in the business model, while others have reportedly defaulted on payments to landlords.

To grab market share, long-term apartment rental platforms generally sublet, an operating model that is easy to replicate but has high capital costs. Without financial support, operators cannot keep up the pace development as the sector has huge early-stage investments and a lengthy profit cycle. Firms can also suffer if they misjudge the timing of expansion and/or operate improperly.

Danke's net loss widened to CNY1.37 billion (USD194.2 million) last year from CNY272 million in 2017, according to its prospectus. In the first nine months of this year, the loss reached CNY2.5 billion, more than triple the CNY813 million in the same period last year.

After wrapping up a USD190 million D round of financing, it latest, Internet Fund IV is now Danke's biggest institutional investor with a 20 percent stake. Ant Financial Services Group has 7.8 percent, founder Gao Jing owns 14.2 percent, and angel investor and Executive President Derek Shen has 6.3 percent.

Editor: Tang Shihua