China’s Ant Group’s dual listing in China and Hong Kong could be the world’s biggest initial public offering (IPO), media reports said. Ant Group is planning to raise around $35 billion through its share sale.
Ant plans to list simultaneously in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and on Shanghai’s STAR Market. If Ant Group manages to achieve its target, it could surpass the $29.4 bn raised by Saudi national oil and gas company Aramco.
Alibaba founder Jack Ma recently said during the Bund Summit in the eastern financial hub of Shanghai, “It’s the first time that the pricing of such a big listing – the largest in human history – has been determined outside New York City” he told the Bund Summit in the eastern financial hub of Shanghai. We didn’t dare to think about it five years ago, or even three years ago. But a miracle just occurred.”
The pricing is expected to be announced officially next week. Alibaba holds a 33 percent stake in Ant Group. Fintech firm Alipay, owned by Ant Group and which was previously known as Ant Financial, claimed to earmark 1.3 billion annual active users by the end of March 2020.
It was earlier reported that Ant is seeking a valuation of more than $200 billion in a Hong Kong IPO.
In July, executive chairman Eric Jing of Ant, said in the press release, “The innovative measures implemented by Shanghai Star market and the Hong Kong stock exchange have opened the doors for global investors to access leading-edge technology companies from the most dynamic economies in the world and for those companies to have greater access to the capital markets.”