Chinese retail giant Alibaba is looking at the possibility of a flotation on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company is looking to raise billions in extra capital and become less dependent of the United States by appealing directly to Chinese investors.
Rising tensions
Alibaba’s 2014 debut on the New York Stock Exchange raised 25 billion dollars (23 billion euros), but its current value has risen to 400 billion dollars (360 billion euros). A second flotation in Hong Kong could raise another 18 billion euros, news agency Bloomberg quotes sources close to the company.
Currently only talks with advisers are taking place, but later this year that should culminate into an IPO in Hong Kong. This would make Alibaba more accessible for Chinese investors and less dependent on American ones, most likely not a coincidence now tensions between the Americans and the Chinese are rising.
Alibaba needs money to finance its steep growth: last year turnover went up more than 50 %. To keep that growth rate going, Alibaba is investing in anything from online platforms and cloud services over deliveries to real physical stores.
