Shareholders of Alibaba, one of the crown jewels of China’s tech industry, have almost unanimously approved a one-to-eight share split scheme proposed by the company at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Monday, easing the way for a secondary listing in Hong Kong.
The share split was voted through yesterday by 99.9% votes representing 97.7% of the ordinary shares issued by the company, according to Alibaba’s latest filing.
The voting results showed overwhelming support for the company’s plan for a secondary listing in Hong Kong later this year. Alibaba was apparently seeking USD 20 billion in its Hong Kong listing. However, this funding goal has reportedly been halved given the current market conditions.
The Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant went public in New York in 2014, raising USD 25 billion in its initial public offering.
Alibaba’s Monday AGM has also elected four board directors, including Jack Ma’s successor and Alibaba’s CEO Daniel Zhang, former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee Hwa, Yahoo’s founder Jerry Yang, and former Nestle executive Wan Ling Martello.