Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company Alibaba Group has filed confidentially for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Previously reported that the group was mulling a secondary listing to diversify funding sources amid escalating U.S.-China tensions over trade and tech, which has accelerated the drive for Chinese technology companies towards more self-reliance on domestic supply chains, technology, and funding.
The firm had chosen China International Capital (CICC) and Credit Suisse to lead its Hong Kong share sale.
Alibaba’s 2014 U.S. initial public offering was the world’s largest-ever stock market flotation, raising a record $25 billion. Hong Kong lost out on the listing because its rules back then did not allow for Alibaba’s corporate structure, which gives founding partners control over board appointments, as opposed to shareholders.
However, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing changed its rules last year to allow «innovative companies» from China with listings elsewhere to do a secondary listing in Hong Kong, even if their voting rights structures did not comply with local standards.