Tech IPOs could raise $57B+ this year, the highest since 1999, as Ant Group aims to raise $30B+ in its October IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai
Context & Ripple Effects
The July report that Alibaba's payments arm was planning an IPO in Hong Kong targeting a $200B+ valuation has grown into the anchor deal of a record year: Bloomberg now frames 2020 tech IPO proceeds at $57B+, the highest since 1999, with Ant Group's October dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai accounting for more than half of it.
The scale matters beyond one company. Ant's 2018 raise of $10.3B from non-Chinese investors set up Western backers for outsized exits, and the deal would test how much demand Hong Kong and Shanghai can absorb simultaneously — a question the following years' listing data would answer decisively.
First-order effects
- Ant Group raises $30B+ across two exchanges at once, becoming the single largest component of a $57B+ tech IPO year — and its pre-IPO backers from the 2018 $10.3B round, including Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus, are positioned for roughly $8B in combined gains.
Second-order effects
- Hong Kong and Shanghai are forced into direct competition for the same mega-listing, splitting allocation between venues — and once the 2020 peak passes, Dealogic data shows Chinese tech IPO proceeds falling to ~$14B in 2021 while Indian tech IPOs rise 550% to $2.6B ahead of Paytm's debut.
Third-order effects
- If the rotation holds, no single hub keeps the tech-listing crown: by mid-2026, LSEG counts mainland China onshore tech listings up more than 5x year-over-year, driven by AI and chip companies — evidence that listing venues cycle with sector mix and policy rather than settling permanently in Hong Kong or New York.
The trend: Tech IPO capital is rotating among Hong Kong, Shanghai, and emerging venues like India as sector cycles and regulation determine where the next wave of mega-listings lands.