Ant Group readying for US$30b HK, Shanghai listings

Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group plans to file for dual listings in Hong Kong and Shanghai in the next few weeks, targeting a valuation of about US$225 billion, people familiar with the matter said, in an effort to pull off the world’s largest initial public offering, Bloomberg reports.

The share sales could raise about US$30 billion in total if markets are favorable, said one of the people, requesting not to be named because the matter is private.

The Hangzhou-based firm seeks to float its shares simultaneously on the Hong Kong stock exchange and the tech-focused Star board in Shanghai as soon as October, the people said. China Securities Regulatory Commission received an application Friday from Ant for an overseas listing, according to its website. No further details were given.