Zhou Liu Fu Jewelry Co. is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong as soon as this year, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Chinese jewelry chain-store operator has held discussions with potential advisers and is close to picking banks for the first-time share sale, the people said. A listing could raise a couple of hundred million dollars and value the firm at more than 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.

Considerations are at an early stage and details such as the size and timing of the potential IPO haven’t yet been finalized, the people said, adding that China’s uncertain economic outlook may have an impact.

A representative for Zhou Liu Fu declined to respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg News, and the Shenzhen-based company didn’t reply to a voice message.

Founded in 2004, Zhou Liu Fu has more than 4,000 stores across China. It filed for a listing in Shenzhen in 2019, and then again in 2022 before retracting last year. The company reported net income of about 302 million yuan in the first six months of 2022, according to the prospectus it submitted at the time.