HONG KONG-The Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday welcomed a reported $20-billion secondary listing in the SAR by Chinese mainland e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding in the second half of this year.
HKEX Chief Executive Charles Li Xiaojia told the HKEX Biotech Week Summit that the flotation, if confirmed, should "come as no surprise and is only a matter of time”.
The reported listing, that could potentially dwarf the initial public offerings of Uber, Lyft and Pinterest combined, would help Alibaba diversify its funding channels and raise liquidity.
Hong Kong lost out to New York in 2014 when Alibaba opted for a mega $25-billion IPO on Wall Street in the world’s largest share sale due to the SAR’s years-long ban on enterprises with different voting rights for shareholders from going public.
The ban was scrapped in April last year after HKEX, which runs Asia’s third-largest bourse by market capitalization, launched its biggest listing reform in 25 years as part of its determination to sharpen the city’s edge as a go-to destination for promising companies from around the world. The move is thought to be aimed at paving the way for companies like Alibaba seeking to go public in Hong Kong.
At the time, Alibaba was valued at $168 billion. Today, it’s one of the largest listed mainland companies with a market value exceeding 400 billion.
Besides Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen are possible options for another Alibaba listing.
Li said regardless of where the company chooses to “settle down”, both international and domestic investors may be allowed to trade in shares through the Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong stock trading links.
"For people away from home, there'll come a day when they'll begin the journey home,”Li reckoned, adding he’s more than happy to welcome Alibaba to the fold.
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