Jack Ma’s Ant Group files plans for dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, showcasing profitable business
- Investors get a glimpse at Ant Group’s size: 711 million monthly active users of Alipay, 1 billion annual active users, 38 per cent rise in first-half revenue and an eightfold jump in pre-tax profit
- Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group Holding, will donate 611,337,334 shares of Ant Group to charitable causes
Ant Group, China’s largest digital payments provider and digital finance platform, has filed applications to sell shares simultaneously in Hong Kong and Shanghai, formally kicking off the process for what’s 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, as the Science and Technology Innovation Board is also called. China’s No. 1 billionaire Jack Ma will donate 611,337,334 shares of Ant Group to charitable causes, the filings showed.
While the size of the initial public offering is still subject to market conditions, the dual listing is widely expected to surpass Saudi Aramco’s US$29.4 billion listing last December, the current record holder for the world’s largest fundraising.
“This IPO will be like a coming-out party and will embolden them. They will have a lot more cash in hand, and they should be able to expand more internationally,” said Zennon Kapron, a director at Kapronasia, which focuses on financial services.
Exchange regulators will next review the applications before Ant and its advisers can ramp up marketing the IPO. In the coming weeks, Ant will gauge demand for the stock before setting a price range for the offering. At that point, institutional and retail investors will be able to subscribe for the shares. Only thereafter will the stock trade on the two exchanges.