<p>Shares in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba jumped to a new record Wednesday morning, a day after the group's financial arm filed paperwork for a joint Shanghai and Hong Kong listing.</p>.<p>The IPO for Ant Group, the financial technology arm of Alibaba, is being billed as one of the world's largest listings, potentially eclipsing the record $29 billion raised by Saudi Aramco last year.</p>.<p>The company filed paperwork on Tuesday evening for a joint listing closer to home as tensions spiral between the United States and China.</p>.<p>It did not detail a timetable for its public offering or how much money it hopes to raise. But the filing has already created a buzz.</p>.<p>As the market closed for lunch, Alibaba's Hong Kong shares were up 3.57 percent at HK$278.8.</p>.<p>Alibaba, which is listed in both Hong Kong and New York, is China's largest e-commerce conglomerate and is owned by billionaire Jack Ma.</p>.<p>Ant Group is a behemoth in the Chinese e-payments market, operating Alipay, one of the two dominant online payment systems in China, a country where cash, cheques and credit cards have long been eclipsed by e-payment devices and apps.</p>.<p>Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the listing, say Ant group is targeting a valuation of about $225 billion, with a $30 billion IPO if markets are favourable.</p>.<p>In its filing Ant said it will use the proceeds to expand cross-border payments and enhance its research-and-development capabilities.</p>.<p>The decision not to list in New York is a major loss for US markets but it comes as Washington ramps up scrutiny of Chinese companies, especially tech firms.</p>.<p>"The greater concern is that if the US passes a sanction of some sort, the other markets in India, Southeast Asia where Ant is looking for growth could be affected," Mark Tanner, managing director of Shanghai-based consultant China Skinny said.</p>.<p>Video app TikTok is currently suing the US government after Donald Trump signed an executive order giving Americans 45 days to stop doing business with its Chinese-owned company ByteDance.</p>.<p>Trump accuses TikTok of being a national security risk.</p>.<p>China has accused Trump of modern-day piracy and of using his executive order to effectively force the sale of TikTok to a US company.</p>
<p>Shares in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba jumped to a new record Wednesday morning, a day after the group's financial arm filed paperwork for a joint Shanghai and Hong Kong listing.</p>.<p>The IPO for Ant Group, the financial technology arm of Alibaba, is being billed as one of the world's largest listings, potentially eclipsing the record $29 billion raised by Saudi Aramco last year.</p>.<p>The company filed paperwork on Tuesday evening for a joint listing closer to home as tensions spiral between the United States and China.</p>.<p>It did not detail a timetable for its public offering or how much money it hopes to raise. But the filing has already created a buzz.</p>.<p>As the market closed for lunch, Alibaba's Hong Kong shares were up 3.57 percent at HK$278.8.</p>.<p>Alibaba, which is listed in both Hong Kong and New York, is China's largest e-commerce conglomerate and is owned by billionaire Jack Ma.</p>.<p>Ant Group is a behemoth in the Chinese e-payments market, operating Alipay, one of the two dominant online payment systems in China, a country where cash, cheques and credit cards have long been eclipsed by e-payment devices and apps.</p>.<p>Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the listing, say Ant group is targeting a valuation of about $225 billion, with a $30 billion IPO if markets are favourable.</p>.<p>In its filing Ant said it will use the proceeds to expand cross-border payments and enhance its research-and-development capabilities.</p>.<p>The decision not to list in New York is a major loss for US markets but it comes as Washington ramps up scrutiny of Chinese companies, especially tech firms.</p>.<p>"The greater concern is that if the US passes a sanction of some sort, the other markets in India, Southeast Asia where Ant is looking for growth could be affected," Mark Tanner, managing director of Shanghai-based consultant China Skinny said.</p>.<p>Video app TikTok is currently suing the US government after Donald Trump signed an executive order giving Americans 45 days to stop doing business with its Chinese-owned company ByteDance.</p>.<p>Trump accuses TikTok of being a national security risk.</p>.<p>China has accused Trump of modern-day piracy and of using his executive order to effectively force the sale of TikTok to a US company.</p>