Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is setting the stage for its secondary listing in Hong Kong that is reported to take place in the last week of November. The company confirmed that it had filed for an initial public offering in the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The IPO, according to reports, could raise approximately $13 billion. That’s in line with the previous estimate of $10 to $15 billion.
Alibaba, co-founded by business mogul Jack Ma, carried out its first IPO in 2014 in New York. The IPO made history when it raised $25 billion – the largest IPO ever recorded.
After the approval of Hong Kong regulators, Alibaba listing in Hong Kong possible. It was later able to issue $500 million new ordinary shares plus 75 million “greenshoe” options. The greenshoe options give underwriting banks the ability to sell more shares than the original amount set.
It is no surprise that Alibaba has chosen Hong Kong to do its second listing. The city has been a long-held target since its 2014 New York IPO. Hong Kong’s reforms have encouraged Alibaba to make a significant grip in the country to make the company closer to the Asian market.
Even with the anticipated secondary listing in Hong Kong, Alibaba highlighted that the New York Stock Exchange would remain its primary listing venue.
Hong Kong and Chinese investors will have a lot to look out for in Alibaba’s second listing. It can contribute something significant to Hong Kong’s slowing business scene due to the ongoing pro-democracy protests across the city. With its listing rule changes, it hopes to attract more tech giants.
Closer to Home
Now that Alibaba is closer to home, Chinese investors will have the opportunity to buy the shares of the e-commerce giant. With such a big scope of influence, it is no wonder why the listing creates excitement among investors.
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