Ant Group unveils refund procedure following suspended IPO
Following yesterday’s confirmation by Ant Group, that its proposed A Share and H Share listings were suspended, the company today provided details on refunds.
In a filing with the HKEX, Ant Group says the refund of the application monies for the Hong Kong Public Offering (including brokerage of 1.0%, SFC transaction levy of 0.0027% and Hong Kong Stock Exchange trading fee of 0.005%) will be made without interest in two batches:
- White Form e-Refund payment instructions/refund cheques/refund monies in respect of wholly or partially unsuccessful applications (determined on the basis of the tentative balloting and allocation already conducted by the Company) will be dispatched on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 (the “1st Batch Refund”); and
- White Form e-Refund payment instructions/refund cheques/refund monies in respect of all applications (to the extent not refunded under the 1st Batch Refund) will be dispatched on Friday, November 6, 2020 (the “2nd Batch Refund”).
As the 1st Batch Refund relates to wholly or partially unsuccessful applications and suspension of the H Share Listing only took place after the arrangement for making the refund payments to those applicants who are entitled to the 1st Batch Refund has commenced, Ant Group is not able to refund all application monies in one batch.
The company also notes that it is not in the interests of the applicants to reverse any arrangement for making refund payments in order that the application monies can be refunded in one batch at a later date. Hence, the refund payments will be made in two batches as set out above.
Ant Group says it will maintain close communication with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and relevant regulatory authorities regarding the progress of its initial public offerings and listings.
Let’s recall that, on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, Ant said it was notified by the relevant regulators in the PRC today that its proposed A Share listing on the STAR Market is suspended.
According to the Chinese regulators, the company may not meet listing qualifications or disclosure requirements due to material matters relating to the regulatory interview of Ant’s ultimate controller, its executive chairman and its chief executive officer by the relevant regulators and the recent changes in the Fintech regulatory environment.