Ant's lead IPO sponsor CICC jumps 44% in debut

Shanghai

ONE of the key investment banks responsible for Ant Group Co's initial public offering (IPO) soared on its own trading debut in Shanghai.

China International Capital Corp (CICC), a joint lead sponsor for Ant's mainland share sale, rose as much as 44 per cent Monday before trading was briefly halted. The firm's shares rose as much as 5.2 per cent in Hong Kong.

The Ant IPO was a big win for CICC, with investment banks vying for a role on the deal to gain revenue and boost their ranking in closely watched league tables.

CICC's listing in Shanghai came at a time that Chinese brokerages are having a bumper year for equity dealmaking, with Ant's multibillion-dollar IPO poised to boost mainland firms' global showing to the best in at least two decades.

CICC, which is leading the way thanks to a bevy of Chinese deals, is set this year to vault above US stalwarts Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley once Ant completes what's set to be a record US$34.5 billion IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai, according to Bloomberg data.

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The Beijing-based brokerage raised 13.2 billion yuan (S$2.7 billion) from its Shanghai listing, making it the fourth largest in China this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. BLOOMBERG