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Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. obtained key approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission for listing in Hong Kong, paving the way for what could be the world’s largest initial public offering.
The Chinese regulator has given Ant the green light to request a listing hearing with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., according to a notice on the commission’s website. A hearing in Hong Kong could take place on Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Ant has yet to complete his registration for the Shanghai leg of the IPO. The Shanghai exchange website shows that Ant submitted an application for inclusion on STAR’s technology-focused meeting on September 22. China’s securities watchdog has 20 business days to accept or reject the registration. The exchange itself has already approved the list.
A representative for Ant declined to comment.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which owns a third of Ant after spinning off the financial unit nearly a decade ago, rose 1.1% in Hong Kong on Monday to HK $ 297.20. The benchmark index was up 0.60%.
China’s securities watchdog’s assent to the Hong Kong sale came later than expected, prompting speculation that Ant’s IPO was running into roadblocks. The company could raise around $ 35 billion from the double listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai in a valuation of at least $ 280 billion, people have said.
Ant Group’s IPO could exceed Saudi Aramco’s record sale for $ 29 billion last year, marking a victory for the Hong Kong stock exchange that lost many of China’s tech stars to US prices.
Ant will not seek fundamental investors for Hong Kong, but will invite large sponsors for its sale in Shanghai to mitigate price fluctuations, people familiar with it have said. The Hangzhou-based firm plans to issue new shares equivalent to around 11-15% of its outstanding shares and split the float evenly between Hong Kong and Shanghai.
– With the help of Lulu Yilun Chen and Zheng Li
(Updates with official notice from CSRC in the first two paragraphs.)
