Alibaba Group Holding’s ordinary shares, which are now primary listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), have been included in the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect programmes, both effective on September 10.
The decisions were confirmed in an Alibaba September 9 filing to the HKEX, and also in announcements made by the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, respectively, also on September 9.
Following the inclusions, eligible investors in mainland China will be able to trade Alibaba’s ordinary shares via the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses.
Alibaba immediately saw a boost to its HKEX share price in morning trading in Hong Kong on September 10.
The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, launched in November 2014, established a two-way trading link between the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the HKEX. The stock connect allows qualified mainland Chinese investors to access eligible Hong Kong shares (southbound) as well as Hong Kong and overseas investors to trade eligible A-shares (northbound) subject to a certain amount of daily quota.
The Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, launched in December 2016, allows investors in mainland China and Hong Kong to trade eligible shares listed on each other’s market through their local securities companies or brokers.
In order to diversify its shareholder base, Alibaba decided to upgrade its listing on the HKEX from a secondary listing to a primary one, with the move being implemented in the week beginning August 28.
In a sign of growing market competition, Alibaba has also being making moves to add rival Tencent's WeChat Pay to its vendors on its ecommerce platforms Taobao and Tmall.com.
