Jack Ma’s timing is frequently spot-on. Now, he’s signaling to a host of Chinese startups it’s time to race ahead with multi-billion-dollar stock sales before the coronavirus pandemic or trade war does more damage to the global economy.
Ant Group, Ma’s financial services juggernaut, is seeking to raise about $10 billion in Hong Kong and potentially more in Shanghai for its initial public offering. That decision is likely to encourage smaller brethren to accelerate their own public debuts, catching markets at multi-year peaks and avoiding longer-term uncertainty. China has birthed more than a hundred startups valued at $1 billion or more in recent years, led by TikTok-parent ByteDance Ltd. and ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing.
