Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba Group announced that it is applying for a primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange while keeping its US listing. The process is expected to conclude by the end of this year.
Photo credit: Ascannio / Shutterstock
Alibaba currently has a secondary listing in Hong Kong. In the first six months of 2022, its average daily trading volume in the Asian city was about US$700 million, compared to US$3.2 billion in the US.
The company said it is keeping its New York listing in the form of American Depositary Shares, which will be interchangeable with its upcoming ordinary shares in Hong Kong, allowing investors to opt for either.
According to Daniel Zhang, chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, the listing will pave the way for investors in China and other Asian markets to play a part in the company’s growth and future.
“Hong Kong and New York are both major global financial centers, with shared characteristics of openness and diversity. Hong Kong is also the launch pad for Alibaba’s globalization strategy, and we are fully confident in China’s economy and future,” he added.
After the announcement, the company’s stock rose by over 5% this morning while the Hong Kong benchmark jumped 1.2%, according to Reuters.
Alibaba listed on the New York bourse in 2014 in what was then the biggest IPO in history. However, it was hit hard by the long-drawn regulatory crackdown in China. According to Bloomberg, the ecommerce giant’s share price has lost as much as two-thirds of its value since 2020.
Last year, the firm was slapped with a record US$2.8 billion fine after an anti-monopoly probe by Chinese regulators.
See also: Alibaba’s financial health in 5 charts
Editing by Miguel Cordon and Lorenzo Kyle Subido
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