Lufax, China's biggest peer-to-peer lending platform, is holding talks with four investment banks for taking a key role in its planned IPO in Hong Kong Stock Exchange, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The four investment banks are reportedly CITIC Securities, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. All the banks have started preparatory work for the IPO, although, no formal mandate has been awarded yet, sources said.

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The timing and size of the IPO is still not confirmed as well. However, reports indicate that the company plans to raise nearly $5 billion.

Lufax, or Shanghai Lujiazui International Financial Asset Exchange, is valued at approximately $18.5 billion. It would be the first peer-to-peer (P2P) platform to be listed in Hong Kong stock exchange once the plan is implemented.

The P2P companies, which is essentially part of the growing fintech industry, connect individual or institutional investors who are looking to invest their spare cash with borrowers needing quick loans.  

Analysts say that Lufax's IPO will gauge investor's appetite for a new breed of fintech companies as they try to disrupt the traditional financial industry.

China's P2P industry has witnessed robust growth over the years. The P2P loans stood at a total of 680.3 billion Yuan ($102 billion) as of August. This is 20 times more than the levels seen in January 2014, per the industry data provider Wangdaizhijia.

Lufax is one of the dominant players in China's P2P industry. Ping An Insurance, the company which is backing Lufax, claimed in its first-half earnings report that Lufax had over 23.3 million users at June end. The Trading volumes on its platform stood at 3.2 trillion Yuan ($480 billion) at the end of June, compared with 512 million Yuan over the same period in first half of 2015. 

TagsLufax, Shanghai Lujiazui International Financial Asset Exchange Co, P2P Companies in China, china, China Lufax IPO Hong Kong, China Lufac Investment Hong Kong