(Oct 31): Alibaba Group Holding is deciding between launching a sharply reduced US$10 billion ($13.5 billion) Hong Kong share sale in November or delaying the deal till next year as global uncertainty mounts, people familiar with the matter say.
China’s largest company is weighing its options for the city’s biggest first-time sale of stock since 2010, but the window for pulling off its mega deal in 2019 is closing fast. It must proceed with a required listing hearing – either after its Nov 1 earnings or Nov 11 Singles’ Day shopping gala – or risk postponing a deal altogether till 2020, people familiar with the matter say.
Alibaba is reluctant to drag things out as uncertainty mounts around US-Chinese tensions and the global macroeconomic outlook, they added, asking not to be identified talking about a sensitive matter.
