Published 04:05 IST, November 16th 2019
Alibaba confirms its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Alibaba has confirmed its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as of November. This is a culmination of 6 years of deliberations and a good sign for HK.
Chinese Tech Giant, Alibaba just confirmed that it will soon be listed on the Hong Kong Stock exchange and hopes for an initial raise of 13.8 Billion from the initial public listing. The gargantuan IPO will give the Financial authorities in Hong Kong a huge boost as the city is currently gripped by pr-democracy movements for the past 6 months.
500 Million Shares
Alibaba initially plans on offering shares at HK$188 per share according to its official statement in a press release. Ali Baba is offering 500 million shares plus an over-allocation option, meaning the sale could be worth as much as $13.8 billion. This single move would make it one of the biggest IPO's in Hong Kong in a decade after insurance giant AIA garnered $20.5 billion in 2010.
Originally, Alibaba planned to go live with the listing in summer but due to the ongoing pro-democracy protests and US-China trade was it had decided to call it off. The Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba was quoted saying Alibaba still believes in Hong Kong's bright future and it wanted to contribute in its small way to that future.
Belief in the future...
The announcement for the listing came after the city tweaked the rules allowing for double listings by companies since Alibaba is listed in the US as well. This will be the world's biggest ever cross-border secondary listing. Alibaba is due to start trading on November 26.
Why is this relevant
The company's decision to push ahead now will be seen as a vote of confidence in Hong Kong's financial future even as protests grow increasingly violent and don't show signs of slowing down. This listing is also vital because it comes after almost 6 years of deliberations and consultations and rule changes that originated when Alibaba decided to list in New York in 2013 and not in Hong Kong.
Updated 08:12 IST, November 16th 2019