Alibaba Group, China’s largest ecommerce company, said on Sunday that it would pursue an initial public offering in the US, publicly confirming that Hong Kong has lost out on what is expected to rank as one of the world’s largest IPOs.
In an emailed statement Alibaba said that it would “commence the process of an initial public offering in the United States”. Listing in the US would make it “a more global company and enhance the company’s transparency,” Alibaba said.
Alibaba had initially sought to list in Hong Kong but fell foul of the city’s listing rules due to the desire of senior management to retain voting control over appointments to its board after a listing.