Weekly News Wrap: Alibaba's Jack Ma loses title of China's richest man; Walmart-owned FlipKart eyes US listing

And Coupang’s IPO is set to be the largest listing by a Korean firm in a decade.

From Reuters:

Alibaba founder Jack Ma has lost the title of China’s richest man as his peers prospered whilst his empire was put under heavy scrutiny by Chinese regulators.

Ma and his family had held the top spot for China’s richest in the Hurun Global Rich List in 2020 and 2019 but now trail in fourth place behind bottled water maker Nongfu Spring’s Zhong Shanshan, Tencent Holding’s Pony Ma and e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo’s Collin Huang.

His fall out of the top three comes “after China’s regulators reined in Ant Group and Alibaba on anti-trust issues,” the Hurun report said. Ma’s recent woes were triggered by an 24 October speech in which he blasted China’s regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his Ant Group’s $37b IPO just days before the fintech giant’s public listing.

Regulators have since tightened anti-trust scrutiny on the country’s tech sector, with Alibaba taking much of the heat; the market regulator launched an official anti-trust probe into Alibaba in December.

Read more here.

From Reuters:

Walmart-owned Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart is exploring going public in the United States through a deal with a blank-check firm, although a traditional stock market listing is much more likely, people familiar with the matter said.

The talks for a deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) are at a very early stage and could fall apart as no plans have been finalized yet, said the people, who declined to be named as the information is confidential.

“We have been clear that we support an IPO for Flipkart, but we have not made any decisions on timing, listing venue or methodology,” a spokesman for Walmart told Reuters.

Walmart acquired a roughly 77% stake in Flipkart for about $16 billion in 2018 and said later that year that it could take the company public in four years.

A growing number of Indian startups are considering the SPAC route to public markets as it involves less regulatory scrutiny and gives companies more certainty over the valuation that will be attained and the funds that will be raised.

Read more here.

From Bloomberg:

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang’s initial public offering is on track to be the largest listing by a Korean company in a decade. And, like most of the major tech offerings these days, it’s happening in New York.

The US has been the destination of choice for mega tech IPOs, with 2020’s biggest debuts Airbnb and DoorDash both listed in New York. Chinese e-commerce giants such as Alibaba Group and JD.com also went public there. Coupang is seeking to raise up to $3.6b in its IPO and could garner a value of more than $50b.

Read more here.