POLICY
POLICY
POLICY
Hong Kong reportedly grants approval for Alibaba IPO
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s proposed initial public offering in Hong Kong is looking more and more likely after the company won approval to move forward with the listing, which could raise between $10 billion and $15 billion.
Alibaba has been plotting what would be its second IPO for several months already. It originally planned to list in August with the aim of raising as much as $20 billion in capital, only to put those plans on hold after the island territory was rocked by political unrest.
However, the company has now decided to go ahead with its plans anyway, with reports last week saying it’s looking to launch its IPO this month. Now that looks increasingly likely, as Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. has granted its approval for the listing, according to a report Tuesday in the South China Morning Post, which cited people familiar with the matter.
Alibaba didn’t respond to requests for comment.
If the listing goes ahead, it would give a much-needed boost to Hong Kong and its status as a major capital markets hub, after being snubbed by numerous big Chinese tech firms in favor of U.S. exchanges. Alibaba itself was one of those. It had planned to list in Hong Kong as far back as 2014, only to drop those plans because of its governance structure, which didn’t comply with Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing rules. However, those rules have now been loosened to allow dual-class shares, making an IPO possible.
The South China Morning Post noted that Hong Kong’s government has pushed Alibaba hard, with Chief Executive Carrie Lam personally calling on the company’s co-founder and former executive chairman Jack Ma to persuade him to consider a listing there.
Bloomberg added that Ma has long dreamed of listing closer to home, saying the move not only curries favor with the Beijing government but also serves as a hedge against trade risks. In addition, a successful share sale would help Alibaba to finance an expensive war of subsidies with rival Metuan Dianping Co. Ltd. in new markets such as food delivery and travel. It would also help to divert investor cash from another rival, Tencent Holdings Ltd.
“Alibaba deserves congrats for getting approval for its Hong Kong IPO,” said Holger Mueller, an analyst with Constellation Research Inc. “It all now depends on Honk Kong’s future as an open capital market, and on its future relationship with China. The more capital that can and wants to go to Hong Kong, the better for Alibaba and all companies listed there.”
Photo: CNBC.com/Flickr
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