Ant Group, an affiliate of China's Alibaba Group controlled by billionaire Jack Ma, reportedly will file for a double listing estimated at $225 billion in Shanghai and Hong Kong in the next couple of weeks, sources with knowledge of the filing said.

With an estimated market value of $200 billion Ant Group is the most valuable financial technology company in the world. Its public listing is set to be among the biggest - if not the biggest - initial public offerings. Based on a Monday report in The Wall Street Journal the IPO could kick-off in October.

If the market atmosphere is favorable Ant Group's share sale could secure approximately $30 billion, sources said. Dual listings create a lot of noise. It would dwarf Saudi Arabian Oil Co.'s $29.4 billion IPO.

Ant Group is an offshoot of Alibaba, China's premiere consumer retail company which is dubbed the "Amazon of China." Alibaba was valued at around $168 billion in its record listing in 2014. The holding company eventually secured $25 billion.

Ant Group's first foray into big league listings will give China's budding STAR Market technology exchange huge impetus. It is China's NASDAQ and was conceptualized in 2019 to cater to local technology groups that want to go public in China.

Ant Group is an online payment platform that operates Alipay - the biggest mobile and online payments service group founded in 2004. Ant Group was formerly Ant Financial before a name change in June. Alipay was spun off from Alibaba in 2011 and has since operated as an autonomous mobile payment platform catering to consumers in China.

In a 2017 interview with Think Business, Ant chief executive officer Eric Jing said they named the company after the insect because it serves "the little guys." Today, Ant Group has broken boundaries and serves international clients.

In another development Jordan's king has awarded Ma the King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein Order for Distinction of the First Degree for his contribution and generosity during the continuing international health crisis, CGTN reported.