(Bloomberg) -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s stock rose in Hong Kong after it was made directly accessible to investors in mainland China for the first time.
Shares of the e-commerce company were added to the Stock Connect program that links the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses to the Hong Kong exchange starting Tuesday. The stock gained 4.2%, the most since Aug. 16, with volume more than triple the three-month full-day average.
The highly-anticipated inclusion is expected to attract about $20 billion of inflows into the stock into next year, with mainland investors likely to build a stake of over 10% in Alibaba, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. That should also help Alibaba narrow its valuation discount to rival PDD Holdings Inc., according to BI analysts.
Shares of the e-commerce firm are up 10% in Hong Kong so far this year, compared with an 8.3% drop in the Hang Seng Tech Index. The inclusion is a timely boost after the company recently reported a revenue miss for the second quarter, as China’s weak consumption continues to sap retail sales momentum.
Under certain exchange rules, a stock will be included in the Stock Connect program if it is a member of the Hang Seng Composite LargeCap Index and has primary listing status. Alibaba had been one of the few major Chinese stocks that was unable to join the program, as it only had secondary listing status. The company upgraded to dual-primary listing status for Hong Kong as well as New York in August, allowing it to finally be made available for mainland trading.
A call contract that’s betting Alibaba to rise another 4.2% to HK$85 apiece before September 27 is the most traded option contract on Tuesday in Hong Kong, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The Hong Kong Exchange publishes turnover figures for the top 10 traded stocks via the links each day after the close.
Among other Hong Kong-listed stocks being made available to mainland traders Tuesday, Mongolian Mining Corp. rose 8%. Among stocks being removed from the links, Shimao Group Holdings Ltd. plunged 23%.
(Updates with closing prices and details throughout.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.