Ant Group’s $37-bn IPO suspended in Shanghai and Hong Kong
Live MintAnt Group's $37 billion listing has been suspended in both Shanghai and Hong Kong in a dramatic move just two days before what was set to be the world's largest-ever stock market debut. The Shanghai stock exchange first announced that it had suspended Ant's initial public offering on its STAR market, prompting Ant to also freeze the Hong Kong leg of the dual listing. Ant was set to go public in Hong Kong and Shanghai on Thursday after raising about $37 billion, including the greenshoe option of the domestic leg, in a record public sale of shares. But Beijing has become more uncomfortable with banks heavily using micro-lenders or third-party technology platforms like Ant for underwriting consumer loans, amid fears of rising defaults and deteriorating asset quality in a pandemic-hit economy.