Ant Group, Alibaba's fintech arm and the parent company of China's largest mobile payments business Alipay, announced on Monday that it has commenced the process of a concurrent initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR board ("SSE STAR" market) and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

As the biggest fintech unicorn in the world, Ant Group's listing has been closely watched for years. 

The company on Monday said in a press release that the listing will help accelerate the digitization of the domestic services industry and develop global markets with partners and expand investment in technology and innovation. However, Ant did not unveil further details like timescale and IPO size. 

Ant Group, which was previously valued at 150 billion U.S. dollars after Series C round of fundraising in June 2018, targets a valuation of more than 200 billion U.S. dollars in the much-anticipated IPO, Reuters reported earlier this month.

"The innovative measures implemented by the SSE STAR market and the SEHK have opened the doors for global investors to access leading-edge technology companies from the most dynamic economies in the world and for those companies to have greater access to the capital markets. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to play a part in this development," said Eric Jing, executive chairman of Ant Group, in the press release. 

Considering the ongoing China-U.S. tensions, the dual-listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong is a good choice for the company, Hong Hao, chief strategist at Bank of Communications International, told CGTN.

Alibaba raised 12.9 billion U.S. dollars in a secondary listing in Hong Kong in November. 

It's the right time for Ant's IPO since the market is much better than it was in March, Hong said, pointing out that capital in Shanghai and Hong Kong are both expecting new listings. 

The reformed Hong Kong Stock Exchange has made a good foundation for Ant's listing, he said.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which missed Alibaba's first IPO, introduced a series of reforms in 2018, allowing the listing of tech firms with dual-class share structures and pre-revenue biotech companies.

"We are delighted that Ant Group has today confirmed that they would be seeking a listing on HKEX. Their intention to IPO in Hong Kong, as well as in their home market, affirms Hong Kong's role as the world's leading international IPO market," said Charles Li, chief executive of HKEX, in a statement.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange also welcomed Ant Group to seek a listing on the SSE STAR Market in a statement released on Monday, emphasizing that this demonstrates the STAR Market's attraction and global competitiveness as the "first choice" for innovative technology companies in China to get listed.

STAR Market has attracted an increasing number of technology companies and supported their growth since its inception over a year ago. So far, the STAR Market has listed more than 130 technology companies, with a total market capitalization of over 2.4 trillion yuan, the statement revealed.