Ant Financial said to plan initial public offering in HK in first half of 2017

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's finance affiliate is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong in the first half of next year, after running into regulatory hurdles for a dual listing that would have included Shanghai, according to people familiar with the matter.

Chinese mainland's restrictions on stock options are discouraging Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group Co from its original plans for the dual listing, said the people, asking not to be named because the matter is private.

A Shanghai IPO hasn't been completely ruled out yet and the company could consider a mainland offering later.