Alibaba Group to add Hong Kong as primary listing location

Just now, Alibaba Group issued an announcement, announcing that Hong Kong will be added as the main listing place, and it will be listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on August 28, becoming a company with dual primary listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

Data shows that since Alibaba’s second listing in Hong Kong in 2019, most of the public float has been transferred to Hong Kong. In terms of market value and trading volume, Alibaba has always ranked among the top three Hong Kong stocks, and the primary listing is a natural outcome. In July 2022, Alibaba applied for a primary listing in Hong Kong. Dual primary listings in Hong Kong and New York will further expand the investor base from mainland China and other parts of Asia, promote the diversification of shareholder structure, enhance the liquidity of Alibaba’s Hong Kong stocks, and provide investors with greater flexibility in holding and trading Alibaba shares in the open market.

The announcement also shows that Alibaba’s dual primary listing in Hong Kong does not involve new share issuance and financing.

According to institutional research reports, the market widely expects that Alibaba will meet the conditions for inclusion in the Hong Kong Stock Connect after completing its dual primary listing in Hong Kong, and is expected to be included in the Hong Kong Stock Connect as early as September. Among them, Morgan Stanley predicted in its research report that after being included in the Hong Kong Stock Connect, in the long run, the proportion of southbound funds’ holdings may stabilize at more than 10%, which is expected to provide considerable incremental support for the company’s value.