DOMESTIC financial technology firm Ant Group’s application for an initial public offering (IPO) on a Nasdaq-style market will be reviewed Sept. 18, the Shanghai Stock Exchange said Wednesday, bringing the company closer to its up to US$30 billion dual listing. Ant, backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba, plans to list simultaneously in Hong Kong and on Shanghai’s STAR Market, in what sources have said could be the world’s largest IPO and come as soon as October. Under the local rules, once Ant goes through the STAR Market listing committee’s hearing, it can then register the flotation with the securities regulator and wait for the registration to be accepted before starting the pricing consultation process. Ant has addressed questions raised by the Shanghai exchange over its planned IPO, as per disclosures on the bourse website Monday and Wednesday. The firm can seek listing approval from the exchange after the bourse is satisfied with its responses. The Shanghai exchange had earlier sought explanations from the company about its relationship with Alibaba, how regulatory changes will impact business, and comparable peers in domestic and overseas markets. According to its filing earlier Wednesday, Ant said that although its Alipay arm was set up by Alibaba, the two firms have reached strategic partnerships and have pledged not to compete with each other. Alipay, Ant’s biggest and best-known business, is the largest player in China’s 430 trillion yuan (US$62 trillion) third-party mobile payments market, according to market researcher Qianzhan. (SD-Agencies) |