Pain of Alibaba loss prompts HKEX to examine new measures
Hong Kong’s tech start-ups are put off listing locally by bourse’s strict entry barriers and ban of dual-share structures
A new board is among the measures Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) will consider in its bid to lure more technology start-ups to list on the city’s bourse, chief executive Charles Li Xiaojia said on Thursday.
Of the 343 companies to list in Hong Kong between 2010 and 2013, only 22, or 6 per cent of the total, were technology related, according to HKEX.
Many observers believe Hong Kong’s stock exchange has missed out on billions in annual listing and trading fees due to its refusal to introduce a dual-shares structure on the grounds that it would violate the long-held principle of “one share, one vote”.
Dual-share structures, which allow shares with unequal voting rights to be listed, are popular with technology firms, including Facebook and Google.
Debate had raged for years on the issue, but the topic was thrust into the spotlight two years ago when Chinese e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba Group, which has a dual-class structure, opted to list its shares in New York in what became the largest IPO in history.
Losing out on a listing by Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, has been costly for the Hong kong exchange, financially and in terms of market development.
