Online consumer microlender Qudian, keen to expand its offering, plans to raise up to US$750 million in a New York IPO. Further Chinese financial technology deals are expected to kick off a wave of similar listings by year-end. Qudian Inc disclosed the fundraising target in its first public filing with the US securities regulator late on Monday. But a source with direct knowledge of the situation told online news service Caixin that the final fundraising amount is likely to exceed US$1 billion, possibly making it the largest IPO by a Chinese company in the US this year. US credit reporting bureau Equifax Inc. learned about a major breach of its computer systems in March - almost five months earlier than the date it has publicly disclosed, "according to three people familiar with the situation", Bloomberg reports. Equifax then stated that the March breach was unrelated to the hack that exposed the personal and financial data on 143 million consumers, which "adds to a mounting crisis at the company, which is the subject of multiple investigations". Equifax hired security firm Mandiant on both occasions but hasn't been transparent about the timing of the breach, according to CNBC.