BEIJING: Chinese e-payments giant Ant Group said on Monday it plans to raise $34 billion in a listing shared between Hong Kong and Shanghai, making it the biggest IPO in history.

The record-shattering IPO comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump tries to smother Chinese technology companies, whose ascent is seen by Washington as a threat to American security, prestige and supremacy in the digital age.

The cash raised from the split float between Hong Kong and Shanghai would exceed the $29bn chalked up by Saudi Aramco in December, a high-profile win for a Chinese company during a period of bad headlines for tech firms from the mainland.

The financial arm of e-commerce titan Alibaba, Ant Group runs Alipay, the dominant online payment system in China, where cash, cheques and credit cards have long been eclipsed by e-payment devices and apps.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2020