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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Markets -> 
Ant gets nod for HK leg of listing
    2020-10-20  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

ANT Group Co. has received approval from China’s securities regulator for its Hong Kong leg of the firm’s roughly US$35 billion dual listing, two people with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.

The financial technology firm plans to list in Hong Kong and on Shanghai’s STAR Market simultaneously in what could be the world’s largest initial public offering (IPO), surpassing Saudi Aramco’s US$29.4 billion record set in December.

Hong Kong’s stock exchange was expected to hold a listing hearing yesterday to determine whether Ant’s initial public offering can proceed in the city, one of the people said.

The firm received a notice from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) early yesterday, one of several regulatory nods the financial technology giant needs before it can go public. Refinitiv publication IFR said the CSRC is set to approve Ant’s STAR Market IPO this week.

Ant, backed by Chinese e-commerce major Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., declined to comment yesterday.

Ant plans to start a brief pre-marketing period this week before opening order books next week, IFR reported, saying Ant’s shares are likely to start trading “a few days” after the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election.

Ant originally aimed to meet Hong Kong’s bourse Sept. 24 and launch the IPO after the week-long Chinese National Day holiday that ended Oct. 8, sources previously said.

Last week, sources said the CSRC was probing a potential conflict of interest in the planned listing, delaying approval.

The regulator was looking into the role of Alipay, Ant’s flagship payment platform, as retail investors’ only third-party channel to buy into five Chinese funds investing in the IPO.

Ant aims to sell 10 to 15 percent of its enlarged share capital in the IPO, split evenly between Hong Kong and Shanghai. It does not plan to offer a cornerstone tranche in Hong Kong in anticipation of strong demand from institutional investors.

Ant, the world’s most valuable startup and the owner of popular Chinese mobile payments network Alipay, filed documents Aug. 25 for concurrent IPOs in Hong Kong and on Shanghai’s fledging STAR Market. (SD-Agencies)

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