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Alibaba Group will upgrade its Hong Kong shares to a primary listing on August 28, potentially unlocking significant capital flows from mainland China. The move, approved by shareholders, positions Alibaba to access up to $19.5 billion in new investments through the Stock Connect program.
Alibaba Converts Hong Kong Shares to Primary Listing, Aiming to Tap into Mainland Chinese Capital
Alibaba Group, a Chinese e-commerce behemoth, is converting its Hong Kong shares to a primary listing. This move could enable the company to access substantial flows of mainland Chinese capital. It continues a plan initially proposed a little over two years ago.
2014, the company, headquartered in Hangzhou, China, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, raising nearly $22 billion in the largest U.S. IPO ever. In 2019, Alibaba raised $13 billion by establishing a secondary listing in Hong Kong.
Alibaba's board applied to elevate its Hong Kong stock to a primary listing in 2022. According to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, shareholders ultimately approved the proposal on August 23.
Alibaba's Hong Kong stock exchange listing will be upgraded on August 28. The company stated in its filing that no new shares will be issued.
The company's Hong Kong–traded shares are up a mere 0.8% as of 3:15 p.m. local time on August 23 in Hong Kong trading session.
Alibaba Gains Access to Mainland Capital via Stock Connect, But Faces Challenges Amid Competition and Economic Slowdown
As a result of the upgrade, Alibaba's shares are now eligible to participate in Stock Connect, a program that links Hong Kong's stock exchange with bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Eligible mainland Chinese investors can acquire Alibaba shares by participating in Stock Connect. Bloomberg predicts that Alibaba could receive capital inflows of up to $19.5 billion during its initial six months of participation in the scheme.
Since its record peak in October 2020, Alibaba shares have lost approximately 70% of their value.
New competitors like Pinduoduo from PDD Holdings and Douyin from ByteDance threaten Alibaba's e-commerce operations. China's slower-than-anticipated recovery in consumer spending is also impacting Alibaba's development.
Geopolitics are also affecting Alibaba's operations. Last year, the company withdrew its intentions to establish an independent cloud computing unit, attributing the decision to U.S. export restrictions on advanced chip sales to China.
Alibaba's quarterly revenue, which was 243.2 billion yuan ($34.1 billion), was below expectations last week. Despite an increase in order frequency, revenue at Alibaba's e-commerce division, which continues to constitute most of its business, decreased by 1% yearly to 113.4 billion yuan ($15.9 billion). The revenue generated by cloud computing increased by 6% to 26.5 billion yuan ($3.7 billion).
