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Wednesday, August 23, 2017, 22:48
Jack Ma regrets having to abandon HK listing
By Zhou Mo
Wednesday, August 23, 2017, 22:48 By Zhou Mo

Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of the Alibaba Group, is seen at the launch of Alibaba's ANZ office at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Melbourne, Australia, on Feb 4, 2017. (Photo/VCG)

Jack Ma Yun, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, said he felt sorry that his firm was not able to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, adding that Alibaba missed the opportunities to develop in the city.

He made the remarks when meeting with Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who paid a visit to Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou on Wednesday.

In coming years, Alibaba hopes to grab opportunities to participate in Hong Kong’s development and strengthen cooperation with the special administrative region on technology and young talents, he said. 

Alibaba hopes to turn Hong Kong into a cashless city and help local small- and medium-sized businesses export their products to the Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia

Alibaba hopes to turn Hong Kong into a cashless city and help local small- and medium-sized businesses export their products to the Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia, he said.

Hong Kong is a vibrant, inclusive and cosmopolitan city, Ma said. Hong Kong people are well-educated and its young people have an international vision and good language abilities.

Therefore, he said, it is important for Hong Kong and the mainland to strengthen cooperation by giving play to Hong Kong’s advantages in talent and policies. 

Ma stressed that Alibaba focuses on helping small- and medium-sized enterprises and young people to grow. The company contributed 3.7 trillion yuan (US$555.6 billion) to the country’s gross domestic product last year, equivalent to Argentina’s total GDP. 

He hopes to turn his company into the world’s fifth largest economy by 2036.

Alibaba will continue with its globalization strategy in future, aiming to making it possible for all good products to be sold and paid for globally, Ma noted. 

Alibaba was forced to choose New York over Hong Kong when it went public after Hong Kong regulators declined to approve its dual-class share structure as it violated Hong Kong’s “one share, one vote” listing rule.

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