Ant Group overtakes Aramco in world's biggest IPO
Ant Group, China’s digital-payments giant, is set to launch the biggest initial public offering (IPO) on record. Where does it go next? Matthew Partridge reports.


Digital-payments giant Ant Group is poised for the “largest stockmarket flotation of all time” next week, says James Dean in The Times. It is set to raise “at least $34.4bn” from a dual listing on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges. This would not only be more than the $29.4bn raised by Saudi Aramco last December, but could also see the firm valued at $313bn, around the same as JP Morgan. The flotation will also turn Alibaba founder Jack Ma into the world’s 11th richest person, with a fortune of $72bn, thanks to his controlling interest of 8.8% in Ant.
The “frenzy of interest” has been so great that the book for the Hong Kong listing was oversubscribed an hour after the launch on Monday, says Hannah Boland in The Daily Telegraph. Ant’s impending listing has even caused the Hang Seng index to fall based on fears of a liquidity squeeze as investors rush to sell existing stocks in order to free up cash to buy its shares. Enthusiasm has been further stoked by the fact that Ant Group’s reported profits jumped by more than 70% year-on-year in the third quarter.
A bet on China’s middle class
Investors pinning their hopes on Ant Group “might not be entirely crazy”, says The Wall Street Journal. After all, “hundreds of millions” of Chinese consumers now use Ant to access “payment services, banking, loans, insurance and the like”. This is a bet that China’s middle class will continue its “inexorable” expansion. Jack Ma has a long record of understanding consumers’ needs; witness the success of his online-shopping platforms. What’s more, Chinese protectionism means that foreign payment-processing firms such as Visa and Mastercard have only recently been allowed to offer services to Chinese people in China.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Simply fending off foreign competitors may not be enough, says Robyn Mak on Breakingviews. If Ant Group wants to justify its valuation of 24 times 2022 earnings, it will need to expand further. This may prove difficult as it already accounts for a quarter of Chinese financial transactions related to online credit, insurance and wealth management. And while the company has benefited from implicit support from Beijing, this can change – as it found out when Chinese regulators imposed new rules on Ant’s “once-booming” money-market fund, drastically slowing its rate of growth.
It’s not only Chinese regulators that Ant Group’s investors should be worried about, says Lex in the Financial Times. Other countries, including India, are cracking down on Chinese apps, hampering overseas growth. Ant Group’s “tight ownership structure” and “complex” balance sheets, especially its many long-term investments in other companies, are other potential risks. Up until now this “hinterland” has helped Ant Group, with the disposal of the local services group Koubei preventing it from falling “deeply into the red” two years ago. However, there is no guarantee that its other investments will be so successful.
Sign up for MoneyWeek's newsletters
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.
He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.
Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.
As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.
Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri
-
Is a mortgage in retirement always a bad idea?
A mystery shopper exercise shows high street lenders are “shunning” retirees looking to take out a mortgage. Are they right to do so?
-
Three funds to consider as UK small caps trade at 30% discount
UK small caps have been unloved for some time, but a shifting economic environment could give them a boost
-
Investment opportunities in the world of Coca-Cola
There is far more to Coca-Cola than just one giant firm. The companies that bottle and distribute the ubiquitous soft drink are promising investments in their own right.
-
Streaming services are the new magic money tree for investors – but for how long?
Opinion Streaming services are in full bloom and laden with profits, but beware – winter is coming, warns Matthew Lynn
-
'Pension funds shouldn't be pushed into private equity sector'
Opinion The private-equity party is over, so don't push pension funds into the sector, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
-
Greg Abel: Warren Buffett’s heir takes the throne
Greg Abel is considered a safe pair of hands as he takes centre stage at Berkshire Hathaway. But he arrives after one of the hardest acts to follow in investment history, Warren Buffett. Can he thrive?
-
Who will be the next Warren Buffett?
Opinion There won’t be another Warren Buffett. Times have changed, and the opportunities are no longer there, says Matthew Lynn.
-
Will Comstock crash – or soar?
Opinion The upside for Comstock, a solar panel-recycling and biomass-refining group, dwarfs the downside, says Dominic Frisby.
-
'As AGMs go digital, firms must offer a new form of scrutiny for shareholders'
Opinion Technology has rendered big AGM meet-ups obsolete, but the board still needs to be held to account, says Matthew Lynn
-
Unilever braces for inflation amid tariff uncertainty – what does it mean for investors?
Consumer-goods giant Unilever has made steady progress simplifying its operations. Will tariffs now cause turbulence?