By Yifan Wang

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding are sharply higher in Hong Kong after news reports that the e-commerce giant is considering floating shares of Ant Group, its financial arm.

The share price jump follows a 9.0% surge overnight for Alibaba's American depositary receipts to $257.68.

In Hong Kong, shares rose 8.8% in early trade to HK$258.80, a new intraday high.

The company is reportedly planning an initial public offering of Ant Group that may value the fintech firm at over US$200 billion, according to Reuters, citing unnamed sources.

Ant, a dominant player in China's mobile-payment market, said the information was incorrect, Reuters reported. However, investor sentiment was strengthened as an offering by Ant Financial would be one of the world's most eagerly anticipated IPOs.

Alibaba shares were last up 8.4% at HK$257.80.

Write to Yifan Wang at yifan.wang@wsj.com