Ctrip, NetEase in talks for secondary listing on Hong Kong stock exchange as Chinese tech companies beat a path back closer to home

Officials of the HKEX have held talks with Ctrip and NetEase about the possibility of a secondary share sale in Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter

The discussions are preliminary and subject to change, they added

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Daniel Zhang Yong, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group (center), at the company's stock trading debut at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) in Hong Kong on 26 November 2019. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 10:51am, 3 Jan 2020Updated: 8:49pm, 17 Feb 2020

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Limited (HKEX) is discussing secondary listings with Chinese technology companies including Trip.com Group and NetEase after Alibaba raised US$13 billion in its 2019 share offering in the city, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bourse officials have held follow-up talks with the two US-listed firms about the possibility of a secondary share sale, the people said, requesting not to be named because the matter is private. The discussions are preliminary and subject to change, they added.

HKEX has said it’s seeing a spike in inquiries about secondary listings from Chinese firms. The interest comes at a time when US scrutiny of Chinese companies has intensified.

A decision to proceed would see China’s biggest online travel service provider and second-biggest gaming company - with a combined market value of about US$60 billion - follow in the footsteps of Alibaba Group Holding, which last year pulled off the financial hub’s largest equity offering since 2010. (Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post)

Hong Kong Exchanges’ shares rose 2.9 per cent Thursday, their biggest gain in nearly four months. Trip.com, known also as Ctrip, climbed 10.2 per cent to mark its biggest rise since March. And NetEase stock surged 7.2 per cent, the most since August, helped by a rally in Chinese technology stocks listed in New York.

Ctrip and the Hong Kong exchange declined to comment in emailed statements. A NetEase representative had no comment when contacted.

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