Alibaba likely to launch Hong Kong share sale in October

New York: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd may launch its mega share sale in Hong Kong as soon as October, Reuters reported, kicking off what could be the city’s biggest listing in a decade.

The e-commerce giant had intended to float its stock in August before protests spread across the city and clouded sentiment, Reuters cited unidentified people as saying. Alibaba declined to comment.

Alibaba filed confidentially for a Hong Kong listing earlier this year, setting in motion potentially the city’s biggest share sale since 2010. It’s said to have picked China International Capital Corp and Credit Suisse Group AG as lead banks for an offering in the second half of 2019, though Alibaba hadn’t finalised time frame nor fund-raising targets. But that plan ran into pro-democracy protests that turned violent, spooking investors.

Alibaba has ridden a surge in Chinese online commerce alongside an increasingly affluent middle class. But it faces new challenges in sustaining growth as the world’s No 2 economy slows, and China clashes with the US over trade.