Business Weekl 27 June 2013
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., China’s biggest e-commerce company, could raise HK$100 billion ($12.9 billion) if it proceeds with an initial public offering in Hong Kong this year, according to an estimate by Ernst & Young LLP.
Companies may raise HK$100 billion through initial share sales in the city this year and the amount would double if a “mega-size TMT IPO” was completed, the accounting firm said in a report distributed in Hong Kong yesterday. Ernst & Young was referring to Alibaba Group’s possible offering in the estimate, Jacky Lai, a Hong Kong-based assurance partner at the firm said. TMT refers to telecommunications, media and technology.
An IPO worth HK$100 billion would be Asia’s biggest since October 2010, when AIA Group Ltd. (1299) raised HK$159 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Companies have raised about HK$40 billion in IPOs in Hong Kong this year, up from HK$16 billion in the same period last year, the data show.
Alibaba Group hasn’t made any decision on the timing or venue of a possible IPO, said John Spelich, a Hong Kong-based spokesman for the company.