Alibaba upgrades Hong Kong listing to primary for Chinese investments

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) receives shareholder approval to upgrade its Hong Kong listing to primary status on August 28, 2024. This strategic move aims to attract huge investments from mainland China.

The decision came during the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday and will give a much-needed boost to the firm that suffered from weak consumption and a painful crackdown by Beijing on the tech industry.

The upgrade will also allow Alibaba (BABA) to participate in the ‘Stock Connect programme’ that links the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The company originally pitched this idea two years back amid rising geopolitical tension between the U.S. and China.

“The main reason for us to proceed with the dual primary listing is because we want to tap into the southbound capital flows through the Stock Connect programme,” said Joe Tsai, co-founder and chairman of Alibaba.

Alibaba (BABA) has been primarily traded in New York since 2014 and remained dual-listed after its notable return to Hong Kong through a second listing in 2019.

The company has been actively buying back its shares to bolster the price, having repurchased $12.5B worth stock in the fiscal year ending March 2024.

Alibaba (BABA) stock gained 0.73% to HK$82.25 on the Hong Kong stock exchange and was marginally lower, down 0.06% to $82.91 on NYSE.