Alibaba Group to apply for primary listing on HKEX

The listing process is expected to be completed before year-end.

Alibaba Group will be applying for a primary listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), which is expected to be completed before the end of 2022.

In a statement, Alibaba said that it will become a dual-primary listed firm on the New York Stock Exchange through American Depositary Shares (ADSs), and on the HKEX through ordinary shares.

“We have received approval from the Board to apply to add Hong Kong as another primary listing venue, in the hopes of fostering a wider and more diversified investor base to share in Alibaba’s growth and future, especially from China and other markets in Asia,” said Alibaba Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang. 

“Hong Kong and New York are both major global financial centers, with shared characteristics of openness and diversity. Hong Kong is also the launch pad for Alibaba’s globalization strategy, and we are fully confident in China’s economy and future,” he added.

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Alibaba added that the dual-primary listing status would enable the company to broaden its investor base and facilitate incremental liquidity and expand access to China and other Asia-based investors.

The company currently holds a secondary listing on the HKEX’s main board.

Its depositary shares in the United States and shares listed in Hong Kong are fungible and inventors can continue to hold their shares through ADSs traded on the New York Stock Exchange or ordinary shares on HKEX, Alibaba said.