Ant Group announced Monday that it is planning “a concurrent initial public offering” in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Star Market, China’s response to Nasdaq.
The move is a confidence boost for Hong Kong. The city’s status as Asia’s financial center is in question after Beijing imposed a controversial national security law in Hong Kong. Ant announcement coincided with the news that Hang Seng will obtain a new index to track the 30 largest technology firms trading in Hong Kong. Ant would most likely be included.
Eric Jing, chief executive of Ant Group, expressed his support for Hong Kong and mainland China in a statement Monday.
“The innovative measures implemented by [the Shanghai and Hong Kong markets] they have opened the doors for global investors to access cutting-edge technology companies in the world’s most dynamic economies and for those companies to have greater access to capital markets, “he said in a statement.
Those measures include Hong Kong, which allows companies to trade dual-class shares, a structure often favored by tech companies because it allows founders to retain control. That This was not the case in 2014, and it was one of the reasons that billionaire founder Jack Ma chose to include Alibaba in New York. The Shanghai Star Market also allows such shareholding structures.
Ant’s IPO would follow a series of high-profile public offerings in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
SMIC (SMICY), China’s largest chip-making company, raised $ 6.6 billion from a secondary listing on the Star Market last week, and its shares soared more than 100% in its debut. E-commerce company JD.com (JD) It raised $ 4 billion on a secondary list in Hong Kong last month, while Alibaba raised $ 13 billion on a secondary list in Hong Kong late last year.
Ant did not provide details on when the IPO will take place. A spokesman declined to comment.
