Ant Group suspends Hong Kong listing after Shanghai exchange halts IPO

The Shanghai Exchange has halted Ant Group’s A-share initial public offering on its STAR Market less than 48 hours before its highly anticipated listing, the Chinese exchange announced on Tuesday.

Photo credit: Ant Group

Ant Group was notified of the suspension by the relevant regulators in China, which citied how the company didn’t meet the listing qualifications or disclosure requirements, the Shanghai Exchange said in a statement.

On Monday, the People’s Bank of China, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange held talks with Ant Group officials: founder Jack Ma, executive chairman Eric Jing, and CEO Simon Hu. Responding to this, an Ant spokesperson told Reuters that the company would “implement the meeting opinions in depth.”

Consequently, Ant Group announced that it will shelve its listing on the Hong Kong exchange. It said that further details about the suspension and the refund of the application monies will be made as soon as possible.

The dual listing, which was scheduled for November 5 on the Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges, was expected to be the world’s largest IPO, raking in over US$34.5 billion.

The Shanghai exchange said that Ant Group has recently reported to China’s securities regulator about significant changes in the regulatory environment. This major development might make Ant Group fall short of the listing requirements on information disclosure, the exchange said in a statement.

Alibaba shares on the New York Stock Exchange were below 7% or down US$23.01 at 9:21 am EST before the opening bell.