Ant Financial, Alibaba Group's financial subsidiary company, is reportedly planing to make an initial public offering (IPO) in the Hong Kong stock exchange in the first half of next year.

Ant Financial was initially considering dual listing with the plan to list the company in Shanghai stock exchange. However, the plan has been put on hold due to regulatory hurdles, China Daily reported citing inside sources.

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Ant Financial's IPO is likely to be among the biggest IPO's for the Hong Kong stock exchange. However, the amount of capital that Ant Financial is planning to raise through the initial offering is still unknown.   

According to the Hong Kong stock exchange rules, companies going public need a free float of at least 25 percent while certain companies can go for 15 percent. Based on the current valuation, a 15 percent stake in Ant Financial would be worth $9 billion.                 

Ant Financial, which owns China's biggest online payment service company Alipay, is currently valued at $60 billion after the latest round of funding. The company raised $4.5 billion through equity fundraising in June this year.

Apart from Alipay, Ant Financial owns China's largest money-market fund, Yu'e Bao. Alipay has so far has proved to be a major money spinner for Ant Financial. After creating a dominant position in China's online payment industry, Alipay is seeing growth opportunities in several emerging markets like India, Thailand, and Indonesia.

TagsAnt Financial Services Group, Alibaba Group, Alipay, Ant Financial, Ant Financial IPO