Ant Group IPO set for Star Market review in Shanghai on September 18

Shanghai regulators are expediting hearing process to bring payments provider and digital finance platform more quickly to market

Ant IPO is expected to surpass Aramco’s US$29.4 billion listing and become the world’s largest ever fundraising

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Published: 9:16am, 10 Sep 2020Updated: 5:48pm, 27 Sep 2020

A listing application by Ant Group, China’s largest digital payments provider and digital finance platform by volume, is set for review by regulators on September 18, Shanghai’s stock exchange said late on Wednesday.

Ant filed its initial public offering (IPO) papers last month on Shanghai’s Star Market, as the Science and Technology Innovation Board is known, formally kicking off the process for what is likely to be the largest fundraising in history.

The fintech unicorn will sell not less than 10 per cent of its total capital post issuance, split between Hong Kong and Shanghai’s Star Market. While the size of the IPO is still subject to market conditions, the dual listing is widely expected to surpass the US$29.4 billion listing last December by Saudi Aramco, the current record holder for the world’s largest fundraising.

Ant operates payments provider Alipay. Photo: Getty Images

The Star Market listing committee will meet at 9am on September 18 to vet Ant’s IPO application, the exchange said. A person familiar with the matter said that the exchange had expedited the listing process to bring Ant more quickly to market. Exchanges around the world are locked in fierce competition to attract fast-growing technology companies.

Ant has already responded to the Shanghai exchange’s questions about its ownership structure, competition in digital payments in China and overseas, customers’ privacy as well as its listing plan in Hong Kong. A one-third share in Ant Group is held by the South China Morning Post’s parent Alibaba Group Holding.