Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is planning to go public on Hong Kong's stock exchange in what could be the world's biggest share offering in years.

The company filed documents with Hong Kong's stock exchange operator on Thursday as part of preparations for an initial public offering.

Beijing-based Xiaomi is the world's fourth biggest smartphone maker by shipment volume, according to IDC.

The listing documents provided no financial details about the share sale or the company's valuation. The newspaper South China Morning Post cited unnamed banking sources saying Xiaomi plans to raise up to $10 billion, which would value the company at $100 billion.

That would make it the biggest IPO since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's $21.8 billion IPO in 2014 on the New York Stock Exchange.