UPDATE 1-Tencent-backed Soulgate halts U.S. IPO plans after getting new funding options

(Adds statement from company, other details)

June 23 (Reuters) - Soulgate Inc, the Chinese social networking app backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd, has halted plans for its initial public offering in the United States, the company said on Wednesday.

The company, which was aiming for a valuation of up to $1.8 billion, said it scrapped its plans to list on the Nasdaq because it received other offers to raise capital.

"Due to alternative financing options made available to Soulgate, the company decided to halt the IPO," a Soulgate spokesperson said.

The Shanghai-based company, which launched its mobile app in November 2016, was looking to raise up to $198 million through the IPO.

In March, the company had 9.1 million daily active users on average, its IPO prospectus said. Tencent owns a 49.9% stake in the company.

Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, BofA Securities and CICC were the lead underwriters for the IPO that was scrapped. (Reporting by Niket Nishant and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Devika Syamnath)