Alibaba’s US$10 billion share sale three times oversubscribed in Hong Kong

Alibaba’s US$10 billion share sale three times oversubscribed in Hong Kong

The firm’s 710 million share sale marks one of China’s largest artificial intelligence fundraising efforts

The offer price represented an 8.4 per cent discount to the stock’s closing price in Hong Kong on Friday and a 3.6 per cent discount to the Friday closing price of its New York-listed shares, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Monday.

The 710 million newly issued shares represented around 3.7 per cent of the company’s 19.17 billion total outstanding shares. Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.

The placement, Alibaba’s first primary share issuance since its 2019 secondary listing in Hong Kong, drew fierce investor demand.

The order book exceeded the US$10 billion target shortly after launch, attracting US$28 billion in demand to leave the deal nearly three times oversubscribed, according to a source familiar with the matter.