Alibaba to 'seriously consider' listing in Hong Kong - Jack Ma

Alibaba Group will “seriously consider” listing in Hong Kong, Reuters reports, citing Alibaba founder Jack Ma. The statement was made at an event in Hong Kong on 8 January, in response to remarks made by Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam about how she hoped Alibaba would return to Hong Kong to list, an Alibaba spokeswoman said. “Daring to speak like this marks a strong commitment so we will definitely seriously consider the Hong Kong market”, Ma said. According to the Alibaba spokeswoman, there are no details available on what any Hong Kong listing plan would involve. 

Alibaba held its USD 25 billion public float in New York in 2014, after Hong Kong refused to accept its governance structure, in which a self-selecting group of senior managers control the majority of board appointments. Hong Kong now plans to allow dual-class shares under rule changes to be proposed by the city’s stock exchange. Such shares grant differentiated voting rights and underpin the alternative governance and shareholding structures favored by many IT company owners.