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Exclusive | Hong Kong exchange set to vet Ant Group’s IPO application early next week, as it plays catch-up with Shanghai

  • Bourse to also decide whether to grant waiver to reduce size of Ant’s IPO down to 10 per cent of market capitalisation
  • Approval expected before public holidays in city on October 1 and October 2

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Given the high profile of the listing, the Hong Kong exchange is making processing Ant Group’s filing a priority. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong’s stock exchange plans to vet Ant Group’s listing papers early next week, as staff work overtime to catch up with Shanghai’s speedy examination of what could be the world’s largest initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Hangzhou-headquartered company is preparing an IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai’s fledgling new board, the Star Market. It has already received the go ahead for the mainland leg of its bumper stock offering.

At stake is Hong Kong’s long-standing reputation for efficiency and cutting through red tape to get business done. Shanghai’s listing approval process has also proven to be transparent, as regulators have filed updates more frequently than Hong Kong. A spokesman for bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing declined to comment on Ant’s hearing date.

Investors are carefully scrutinising every update from regulators so that they can roughly gauge when China’s largest digital payments provider by volume will make its debut on public markets. Some investors are selling shares in other companies to make room for Ant in their portfolios.

Ant Group is the operator of payments service Alipay. Photo: Bloomberg
Ant Group is the operator of payments service Alipay. Photo: Bloomberg

Overseas investors are piling into Hong Kong ahead of the IPO, as they jostle for a piece of the offering. More than HK$36.2 billion (US$4.7 billion) has flowed into the city since September 14, forcing the city’s de facto central bank to intervene several times in currency markets to try to weaken the Hong Kong dollar.

Companies seeking to raise funds in Hong Kong, or on the Star Market, will also be keeping an eye on the timing of Ant’s mega offering, so they can adjust their own timing to avoid competing head-on for investors’ attention.

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