China's Ant Group to raise $34.4 billion in world's biggest IPO
Updated 23:11, 26-Oct-2020
CGTN

China's Ant Group is set to raise $34.4 billion from the world's biggest-ever initial public offering, regulatory filings showed Monday.

Ant Group has set the price of its A-shares at 68.80 yuan ($10.27) per share, and the price for the Hong Kong tranche at HK$80 ($10.32) per share.

The IPO would be the first simultaneous listing in Hong Kong and the Nasdaq-style STAR Market in Shanghai.

The listing eclipses the record set by Saudi Aramco's $29.4 billion float last December and the $25 billion raised in 2014 by its former parent Alibaba Group.

Ant Group, previously known as Ant Financial, is Alibaba's fintech arm and the parent company of China's largest mobile payments business Alipay.

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, said Saturday that the price is likely to be the "world's largest," and it's the first time the pricing of a big tech company has been decided outside of New York.

Ant's valuation based on the pricing will be 2.1 trillion yuan or $313 billion, larger than some of the biggest banks in the U.S., including Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo.

It is expected to start trading in Hong Kong on November 5, according to the filing. 

The Chinese fintech company received the final nod for the dual-listing from the country's top securities watchdog on October 22.

The Hong Kong leg of the IPO is being sponsored by China International Capital Corp (CICC), Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley.

Ant's listing on Shanghai's STAR Market is being led by CICC and China Securities Co.