Hema, the grocery spin-off of Alibaba Group, is putting its listing plan on hold, the e-commerce giant said on Thursday, citing that evaluating market conditions and other factors necessary to ensure a successful IPO.

In March, Alibaba split its business empire into six huge divisions, Hema is of the local life services group. 

Founded in 2015, Hema is widely considered the first spin-off of Alibaba to go public. 

But in September, rumors broke out that Alibaba was shelving the listing plans for Hema in Hong Kong due to a subdued atmosphere in stock investments. The post-listing valuation was estimated to be only US$4 billion (29 billion yuan), far below the target of $6 billion to $10 billion set last year when considering new financing.

Regarding the temporary postponement of the IPO, Hema has not provided information on when it will be resumed.