Citic Securities Set For Role In Ant Group's Up To $30 Bln Ipo: sources

China Securities Co

04/09/2020 11:56

By Julie Zhu and Samuel Shen
    HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - China's largest
brokerage CITIC Securities  600030.SS  6030.HK  is set to get an
underwriter's role for the Shanghai tranche of financial
technology firm Ant Group's up to $30 billion dual-listing, four
people with knowledge of the matter said.
    Ant, backed by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba  BABA.N 
plans to do a simultaneous listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, in
what sources have said could be the world's largest initial
public offering (IPO) and come as soon as October.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2FS0GC
    CITIC, which has in actively pitched for a role in Ant's
listing on Shanghai's Nasdaq-style STAR Market, is set to become
a joint underwriter for the onshore leg, said three of the
people.
    The Chinese brokerage's possible role in the Ant IPO comes
after it dropped out of the Shanghai flotation of Ant's local
rival JD Digits, financial services affiliate of e-commerce
company JD.com  JD.O , said two of the sources.
    Many Chinese firms restrict top investment banks from
working for competitors until their transactions close due to
concerns the banks working on a concurrent IPO timetable may
divulge information to the benefit of their rivals. 
    CITIC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ant declined to comment. 
    All the sources declined to be named as the information was
private. 
    JD Digits said in a filing on Thursday that the company and
CITIC had terminated their so-called counseling agreement signed
in late June for an IPO on the year-old STAR Market in Shanghai.
    Compared to Ant's mega IPO, JD Digits plans to raise between
20 billion yuan and 30 billion yuan ($2.9 billion-$4.4 billion),
said two of the people. JD.com did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
    China International Capital Corp (CICC)  3908.HK  and China
Securities Co  6066.HK  are the sponsors, the most senior role
in the transaction, for the Shanghai tranche of Ant's IPO,
according to the firm's exchange filing.
    Ant plans to raise more funds on the STAR Market than in
Hong Kong, Reuters reported on Wednesday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2FZ081
    CITIC has topped the equity capital markets rankings for
mainland China and Hong Kong, with $14 billion worth of deals it
and its Hong Kong-based unit CLSA worked on, in the first eight
months of the year, according to Refinitiv.

 (Reporting by Julie Zhu and Samuel Shen; Editing by Sumeet
Chatterjee and Louise Heavens)
 ((julie.zhu1@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6519; Reuters
Messaging: julie.zhu1.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))