Alibaba to resume HK listing plans as soon as Nov
HONG KONG/NEW YORK: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is eyeing a listing in Hong Kong as early as November to raise up to $15 billion, after political unrest put the move on ice earlier this year, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Alibaba’s listing would boost Hong Kong’s status as a major capital markets hub. After topping global rankings in 2018 for funds raised through IPOS, the city’s bourse fell behind the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq this year amid months of anti-government protests that have roiled the Asian financial hub.
The float would be the world’s biggest equity deal for the year if the initial public offering (IPO) for state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco gets delayed to next year. Aramco’s IPO could be worth over $20 billion.
Alibaba plans to seek listing approval from Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd shortly after the Chinese e-commerce giant’s online retail frenzy Singles Day on Nov. 11, and may list its shares towards the end of November or in early December, the sources said.
The company expects to be in a position to forgo so-called pre-marketing meetings where it meets with institutional investors before a deal launch given its size and that many investors are already familiar with the company, the sources added. It is hoping to raise between $10 billion and $15 billion through the listing, Reuters has reported.
A spokeswoman for Alibaba, which is already listed in New York, declined to comment. The company had been preparing to launch the listing in late August, but delayed it due to the lack of financial and political stability in Hong Kong after months of frequently violent anti-government demonstrations.
All the same, IPO activity has picked up since September as typically the last four months of the year are the busiest in Hong Kong for public floats.
Such a large offering from Alibaba, potentially the biggest follow-on share sale in seven years, according to Refinitiv data, could also have implications on liquidity in Hong Kong’s financial system and the closely watched Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (HIBOR).