As of the close on October 14, 2024, Alibaba-W closed at HK$105.2 per share, down 0.57%, with a turnover rate of 0.39%, a trading volume of 79.2406 million shares, and a turnover of HK$8.33 billion.

It is understood that within the past 90 days, a total of 15 investment banks have given a buy rating for the stock, with a target price of HK$106.35 in the last 90 days.

It was included in the Stock Connect in September.

On September 9th this year, the SSE and SZSE announced in the evening that due to adjustments in the constituents of the Hang Seng Composite LargeCap Index, MidCap Index, and SmallCap Index, the Stock Connect securities list was adjusted according to relevant regulations, effective from September 10, 2024.

Alibaba, Imotion Auto Tech, SF Local, Hang Lung Group, K. Wah International, COFCO Packaging, Tianli International Holdings, Stella Holdings, Zonqing Ltd, Dah Sing Banking, Sinopec SEG, Dekon Agr, Mei Zhong Jia He, Teabaw, JNBY, CSSC Shipping, and 17 other stocks were added.

Xiabuxiabu, Productive Tech, Powerlong, Shimao Group, Sino-Ocean Group, Chinasouthcity, Edianyun, Agile Group, and 25 other stocks were removed from the Stock Connect securities list.

This means that southbound funds will be able to purchase stocks like Alibaba through the Stock Connect.

A few days ago, on September 4th, the Hang Seng Index added the Hong Kong Stock Connect Index rapid inclusion rules, transforming from secondary listing to primary or dual primary listing and meeting the qualifications for southbound interconnection trading for securities. If the closing total market cap ranks in the top 10 among existing constituents, it will be included in the index in the next monthly regular adjustment.

Alibaba completed a dual primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on August 28 this year, becoming the first beneficiary of the new rules.

Institutions are optimistic about the prospects of Alibaba joining the Hong Kong Stock Connect. For example, Goldman Sachs previously forecasted in a research report that southbound funds will bring Alibaba potential inflows of 15 billion to 16 billion US dollars.

Completed dual primary listing in August

Alibaba Group announced earlier that it will add Hong Kong as a primary listing location and will be listed as a primary listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on August 28 this year, becoming a company with dual primary listings on the Hong Kong and New York Stock Exchanges. Now, this action has been successfully completed.

In May of this year, Alibaba disclosed in its 2024 fiscal year annual report that it is expected to complete the conversion to the primary listing in Hong Kong by the end of August 2024. After the conversion is completed, Alibaba will have dual primary listings in both the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. According to the announcement, Alibaba's dual primary listing in Hong Kong does not involve new share issuance and financing.

In fact, as early as July 2022, Alibaba applied to list primarily in Hong Kong. At that time, Alibaba announced that the board of directors had authorized the group's management to submit an application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, intending to add Hong Kong as a primary listing location.

Data shows that since Alibaba's secondary listing in Hong Kong in 2019, most of the publicly traded shares have been transferred to Hong Kong. In terms of market cap and trading volume, Alibaba has consistently ranked among the top three in Hong Kong stocks.

Ongoing repurchase in the new fiscal year.

On the evening of October 2, Alibaba announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that during the quarter ending on September 30, 2024, the company repurchased a total of 0.414 billion common shares at a total price of $4.1 billion (equivalent to 52 million American depositary shares). These repurchases were conducted in the U.S. and Hong Kong markets under the company's share repurchase plan.

The announcement shows that as of September 30, 2024, the company had 18.62 billion outstanding common shares (equivalent to 2.327 billion American depositary shares). Compared to June 30, 2024, there was a net reduction of 0.405 billion common shares, a net decrease of 2.1% (after taking into account the shares issued by Alibaba under the stock-based incentive plan). There is still $22 billion remaining under the board-authorized share repurchase plan, valid until March 2027.

Financial report data shows that Alibaba has already invested $5.8 billion in repurchasing 0.613 billion common shares in the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, exceeding the efforts of the previous several quarters.

According to previous statistics, in the past 2024 fiscal year, Alibaba has cumulatively invested $12.5 billion in repurchases, ranking first in the scale of repurchases among Chinese concept stocks. As of June 30, 2024, there is still $26.1 billion remaining under Alibaba's share repurchase plan, valid until March 2027.

Editor/Lambor