Alibaba financial affiliate valued at US$60b: reports
Add BT as a preferred sourceDeeperDive is a beta AI feature. Refer to full articles for the facts.
[BEIJING] China's top internet finance company, e-commerce giant Alibaba's affiliate Ant Financial, could start the process of going public this year, reports said Monday, with the firm's latest fundraising valuing it at US$60 billion.
Ant Financial Services Group, which owns and operates the Paypal-like service Alipay, has met the Chinese listing requirement of three years profitability, Bloomberg News cited unidentified sources as saying.
It is planning to list on the Shanghai stock exchange, they said, and could become China's biggest initial public offering (IPO) since 2010.
Ant declined to "comment on market speculations".
Partly owned by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Ant Financial also runs China's largest money market fund and provides financial services focussed on serving small companies.
It is currently seeking private funding of US$3.5 billion, Bloomberg reported, valuing it at around US$60 billion.
Navigate Asia in
a new global order
Get the insights delivered to your inbox.
None of China's biggest Internet firms are quoted on its domestic exchanges, "so it could enjoy a significant premium in value if it lists in the country", Li Muzhi, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Arete Research Searches told Bloomberg News.
"A lot of the potential retail investors are also Ant Financial's users," the analyst added.
Alibaba's Taobao platform is estimated to have more than 90 per cent of the consumer-to-consumer market in China, while Alipay handles around 80 per cent of online payments in China.
Last week the companies announced a joint US$1.25 billion investment in an online food delivery firm, the latest in a series of acquisitions as Alibaba diversifies its activities from consumer-to-consumer sales to video streaming and print media.
On Monday Alibaba's movie-making division said it signed deals with Paramount Pictures to invest in two new films, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and Star Trek Beyond.
Alibaba also just announced a US$1.0 billion investment in a leading online shopping platform in Southeast Asia, Lazada.
AFP
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
TRENDING NOW
‘Boring’ is the new black: The stars are aligning for a Singapore stock market revival
Near sell-out launches in March boost developer sales to 1,300 units after four slow months
China pips the US if Asean is forced to choose, but analysts warn against reading it like a sports result
Genting Singapore’s Lim Kok Thay receives S$7.5 million pay package for FY2025
