Hong Kong retail investors who had applied for Ant Group's record US$39.67 billion IPO will get refunds in two batches, after the fintech giants decided to suspend the offering.

Some 1.55 million small investors in Hong Kong had pumped HK$1.3 trillion (US$167.7 billion) into the initial public offering in a bid to get a slice of the shares, making it the highest amount to be refunded in history.

In the first batch of refunds on Wednesday, investors who had unsuccessfully applied for the shares will see their application amounts credited directly to their bank accounts or will be sent cheques by post, according to Ant's stock exchange filing on Wednesday morning. The second batch of refunds on Friday will be given to the investors who had successfully won the allotment for the shares in the now delayed IPO.

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The refund will include the application monies, as well as 1 per cent brokerage commission, a 0.0027 per cent Securities and Futures Commission transaction levy, and a 0.005 per cent stock exchange trading fee, the filing said.

The development came after Ant Group late on Tuesday night announced that it was suspending its dual IPO on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges less than 48 hours before trading was due to start, saying it may not meet listing and disclosure requirements due to changes in the regulatory environment in China.

Ant Group announced a quick refund to Hong Kong IPO investors on Wednesday and Friday. Photo: Reuters alt=Ant Group announced a quick refund to Hong Kong IPO investors on Wednesday and Friday. Photo: Reuters

The surprise delay to the world's largest IPO came after co-founder Jack Ma, executive chairman Eric Jing and chief executive Simon Hu met mainland regulators and central bank officials on Monday. The regulators had earlier drafted a new set of rules on China's booming microlending market, which could curb the profits of the country's fintech giants.

The previous record for the highest refund amount was held by Budweiser Brewing Company APAC, which scrapped its US$9.8 billion IPO in July last year after closing the offer book. Although the company did not announce the amount, brokers estimated it was around HK$38 billion. Budweiser successfully listed on Hong Kong stock exchange two months later after reviving its IPO plan.

In Hong Kong, retail investors had oversubscribed 389 times for the IPO, according to people familiar with the matter.

Banks including HSBC, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and the city's 600-odd brokerages had extended HK$500 billion of margin financing loans to help investors fund their subscription at an interest rate of between 0.48 per cent to 3.5 per cent.