Jack Ma’s Ant Group files for IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai

An employee stands next to the logo of Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba's financial affiliate, at its headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. - Filepic Reuters

HONG KONG: Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong and Shanghai to bankroll its expansion in financial services and bolster its lead as China’s largest online payments platform.

Ant would use the proceeds from the sale to expand cross-border payments and enhance its research and development capabilities, it said in a filing, without providing a share price range or amount to be raised in the IPO.