Bilibili seeks dual-primary listing in Hong Kong by October 3, as short video platform moves to bolster home ties
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Nasdaq-listed short video platform Bilibili expects to convert its secondary listing status in Hong Kong into a dual primary listing by October 3, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Monday.
The company, which listed and raised US$2.6 billion in Hong Kong in March last year through a secondary listing, said it has already applied and gained the green light from the stock exchange to proceed with its conversion proposal. The company listed on Nasdaq in March 2018.
The Shanghai-based platform said it would need to make a number of changes to its internal controls, disclosure, and certain staffing arrangements to meet Hong Kong listing rules and facilitate the primary listing in the city. It also needs shareholder approval and a final nod from the stock exchange for its conversion plan.
For example, it will need to appoint a local qualified company secretary. It will also have to detail and list the differences between its accounting treatment in the US and Hong Kong to shareholders. It expects the conversion to dual primary status to become effective on or around October 3.
Bilibili said the move was due to “the significant increase in the trading volume of the shares traded on the Stock Exchange since the secondary listing in Hong Kong, the nexus between Hong Kong and the principal business operations of the company in the People’s Republic of China, as well as the long-term business development and prospects of the company.”
A dual-primary listing will enable the company to potentially be included in the Stock Connect schemes, a mutual market access mechanism that allows mainland Chinese investors to trade Hong Kong stocks and vice versa. This option is not available to companies listed through secondary flotations.
Bilibili is among a host of US-listed mainland companies seeking secondary or primary flotations closer to home, as a hedge against the risk of being kicked off American exchanges over stricter audit requirements.