After the record for the world's biggest IPO was just broken in December when Saudi state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco went public on the Riyadh stock exchange, payment provider Ant Financial is all set to break that record by collecting almost $34.5 billion in an IPO that is taking place in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The maker of top Chinese payment app Alipay will terminate its , signaling demand is in fact strong enough to reach the expected result.
Saudi Aramco's IPO brought in a little less - $29.4 billion - after expansion of the original number of shares. Yet, less than 2 percent of the company became public in the process, while Ant Financial is going for The Saudi's offering was part of a larger plan to reduce Saudi Arabia鈥檚 dependence on oil. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman鈥檚 鈥淰ision 2030鈥 economic reform plan is looking to invest the money raised through the IPO in diversifying the country鈥檚 economy.
The Ant Financial IPO would see another Chinese company added to the list of the biggest IPOs ever. Three Chinese companies are already among the current top 5, while the first U.S. company comes in rank 7.
