Ant may raise up to $17 billion in Shanghai IPO leg as investors submit bids

China’s Ant Group could raise up to $17.3 billion in the Shanghai leg of the likely $35 billion dual listing, the world’s largest ever, after some large investors submitted bids in the range of 68-69 yuan per share, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The simultaneous listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai of the Chinese financial technology giant, backed by e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, would beat the previous largest IPO, Saudi Aramco’s $29.4 billion float last December.

The pricing for the Shanghai tranche of the initial public offering was decided on Friday, Alibaba founder Jack Ma said on Saturday, without disclosing the price.

“It’s the first time that the pricing of such a big listing – the largest in human history – has been determined outside New York City,” he told the Bund Summit in the eastern financial hub of Shanghai, referring to Ant’s float as a “miracle”.