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Alibaba
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Alibaba shareholders approve one-to-eight stock split, which could ease potential Hong Kong secondary listing

  • Share split would give Alibaba greater flexibility for raising capital
  • E-commerce company reportedly considering US$20 billion secondary offering in Hong Kong

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Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Photo: Reuters
Chad Bray

Alibaba Group Holding’s shareholders overwhelmingly approved a 1-to-8 split of the company’s US-listed stock, a move the company has said would give it greater flexibility for raising capital, including issuing new shares, according to a US securities filing late on Monday.

The approval comes as the company is reportedly considering a secondary listing of its shares in Hong Kong.

Bloomberg previously reported that Alibaba, the operator of the world’s largest e-commerce platform, is considering raising as much as US$20 billion in the offering.

In addition to increasing the company’s flexibility for future capital-raising activities, the split would increase the number of shares available for issuance at a lower per-share price. Alibaba’s American Depositary Shares (ADS) closed on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange at US$173.50, up 2.6 per cent .

Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.

The announcement followed Alibaba’s annual general meeting in Hong Kong on Monday.

Under the changes, one ADS, which currently represents one ordinary share, will represent eight ordinary shares. Voting rights of shareholders will remain the same.

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