[ad_1]
The Ant Group mascot at the company’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China, on September 28.
Photographer: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg
Photographer: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg
Ant Group plans to raise the valuation target for its initial public offering to at least $ 280 billion due to strong demand, and is pushing ahead with the sale even as the Trump administration weighs restrictions on the Chinese fintech giant, according to people familiar with the case.
The Hangzhou-based company is raising the target by at least 12% from a previous estimate of $ 250 billion after initial conversations with investors, said the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Ant pretends to pose $ 35 billion in the sale, family members said.
Despite the headwinds from the United States, Jack Ma’s Ant is moving forward with what could be the world’s largest IPO, with same-day trading in Hong Kong and Shanghai, the people said. At $ 280 billion, Ant would be bigger than Bank of America Corp. and three times the size of Citigroup Inc., while its sale would exceed Saudi Aramco’s record $ 29 billion increase.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has scheduled an Ant hearing for next week, pending approval from the Chinese securities watchdog, a requirement for companies doing double listing in China and Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter said. Ant and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange declined to comment on emailed statements.
Hong Kong’s hearing before a 28-member panel of outside professionals has been expected for weeks, but has yet to happen. If it is delayed much longer, the IPO risks coinciding with the November 3 US election, where some expect an increase in postal ballots to lead to prolonged uncertainty. Hong Kong’s week-long gap between the price of an initial public offering and the start of trading means investors would be exposed to increased volatility.
The Trump administration is exploring restrictions on Ant, as well as his rival Tencent Holdings Ltd., on concerns that its digital payment platforms threaten US national security.
Trump’s WeChat ban from Tencent in the US is facing a pushback. A magistrate judge It said this week that it is unlikely to allow the country to implement bans on Wechat while the government appeals its previous ruling.
Ant said it is moving forward in obtaining the necessary approvals for its IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong, following reports that it has not yet received the green light from the Chinese securities watchdog.
Ant has added Barclays Plc, ICBC International and BOC International to its list of joint book brokers for sale from Hong Kong, people familiar with it said. That is in addition to China International Capital Corp, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley acting as sponsors and Credit Suisse Group AG acts as the joint global coordinator for the Hong Kong leg.
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte plans to invest more than $ 1 billion in Ant’s IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai, people familiar with it have said. The listing is also attracting the interest of other existing investors such as Temasek Holdings Pte and the National Council of the Social Security Fund, they said.
– With the assistance of Lulu Yilun Chen, Zheng Li, Julia Fioretti and Dong Cao
