Alibaba wins approval to sell shares in massive secondary listing in Hong Kong – media
by RT
Alibaba wins approval to sell shares in massive secondary listing in Hong Kong – media
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, the current record-holder for the largest IPO in history, may sell up to US$15 billion of new shares during the planned secondary listing in Hong Kong.
The Hangzhou-based company’s listing application was approved by Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, media reported, citing sources on Wednesday. Thus Alibaba became the first firm to successfully qualify for the secondary listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange under the new rules this year.
Alibaba reportedly plans to offer about 500 million shares, and may raise between $10 billion and $15 billion, according to different estimates. The share sale could be the city’s largest in almost a decade.
The price of each Alibaba share will be determined on November 20 and trading may start on November 25, Alibaba-owned South China Morning Post reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Other reports say the company’s executives are preparing for a Thursday launch, while some noted that it depends on the situation in the Asian financial hub. Back in August, the growing unrest in the city led to the delay of the secondary listing.
If the e-commerce behemoth proceeds with the listing, it could give a boost to the local stock market, which has been under pressure due to months of protests in Hong Kong. The city has recently admitted that the demonstrations plunged it into recession, and that this may have a negative impact on the annual economic growth.
Back in 2014, the Hong Kong stock exchange lost Alibaba to the US listing, during which the company raised a record $25 billion in the world’s largest IPO. However, the stock market debut of Saudi Aramco can potentially eclipse Alibaba’s success, as the Saudi oil giant is expected to raise around $40 billion.
