Wall Street banks including Citigroup, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are poised to share at least $300m in fees from the blockbuster dual listing of Chinese payments company Ant Group, in what is likely to be the biggest windfall in a decade for bankers in Asia’s top financial hub.
Ant said it will offer at least 10 per cent of its shares in a dual offering in Hong Kong and Shanghai at a valuation of between $200bn and $300bn. People familiar with the plans say it could offer up to 15 per cent. At the top end of the range, the listing could even net up to $450m in Hong Kong — a record for Asian deals outside Japan.
The fees from the Ant Group initial public offering will be “humongous” said John Mullally, a Hong Kong-based director for financial recruitment group Robert Walters. “People who run banks in Hong Kong are hoping it is a harbinger of how the city will streak ahead, especially with more Chinese companies choosing it over the US,” Mr Mullally added.