Alibaba reportedly considering USD 20 billion listing on Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Anca Alexe 14/06/2019 | 11:00

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is said to be looking to raise USD 20 billion through a secondary share listing in Hong Kong, according to sources familiar with the plans cited by Bloomberg.

At this size, the listing would be bigger than the IPOs of Uber, Lyft and Pinterest combined, according to CNN. The Chinese tech firms already holds the record for the world’s largest IPO, as it raised USD 25 billion in 2014 when it listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

At the time of its initial IPO, Alibaba was valued at USD 168 billion. Today it has a market value of over USD 400 billion, but even though it has seen healthy growth as online commerce has become more popular in China thanks to a stronger middle class, it is struggling to maintain this growth as the country’s economy slows and deals with the trade war with the US.

The city of Hong Kong would also benefit from a secondary listing by Alibaba. The reason why the company didn’t choose Hong Kong to go public in 2014 was that the HK Stock Exchange had a “one share, one vote” policy, while Alibaba founder Jack Ma and other key management people wanted more control in the company. Hong Kong changed the rules last year to allow large companies to have different voting rights for key figures.

Besides e-commerce, Alibaba is also heavily investing in internet services like cloud as well as in ride-hailing or fintech companies.

 

BR Magazine | Latest Issue

Download PDF: Business Review Magazine March (II) 2024 Issue

The March (II) 2024 issue of Business Review Magazine is now available in digital format, featuring the main cover story titled “BAT DBS Romania Hub: A Vibrant New Office For An Employee-Centric
Anca Alexe | 27/03/2024 | 17:32
Advertisement Advertisement
Close ×

We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used.

Accept & continue