HeyTea will not seek an IPO this year, NIE Yunchen, the founder and CEO of the premium beverage chain, told Jiemian News on Tuesday.

Tencent News reported on Tuesday that HeyTea had kicked off its Hong Kong IPO, investment bank CICC has been preparing for HeyTea to go public since December last year.

"The same false information has been circulating for so many times that I have to make this clear," Nie said in his WeChat Moment post. "HeyTea has no plan to go public whatsoever."