Alibaba Group marks debut in Hong Kong Stock Exchange

The firm begins trading under stock code "9988".

Alibaba Group is now officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), following its initial public offering (IPO) in early-November, the company announced.

Alibaba Group formally goes public on HKEX under the stock code “9988.” The company has begun trading where the listing is part of a global offering of 500 million new shares.

About 12.5 million new shares will be under the public retail offering and 487.5 million new shares will be allotted for global subscriptions.
The firm announced that they planned to offer 575 million new shares, pricing its retail public offer shares at $188 apiece.The company seeked to raise more than $115.15b.

Its proceeds will be used to drive user growth, digital expansion plans, and long-term investments.

HKEX was the company’s first choice for its planned initial public offering back in 2014, but due to some of Hong Kong’s regulations for its capital markets at the time, with regards to shareholder classes in particular had prevented Alibaba’s HKEX listing, prompting the e-commerce giant to choose the New York Stock Exchange instead. When the Hong Kong exchange has since amended some rules, the company took the opportunity to return.