Alibaba IPO might be in Shanghai or NY

New York and Shanghai have come into the mix of possible listing venues for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's initial public offering (IPO) but there remains a chance that Hong Kong might still accept Alibaba's terms and allow the company to list there, according to media reports.

Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing Limited (HKEx) may accept Alibaba's proposal if they set a limit on major shareholders' holdings after the IPO, Hong Kong-based newspaper Oriental Daily reported Monday.

The possibility came after a compromise by Japan's SoftBank Corp, who owns a 36.7 percent stake, to entrust its voting power to partners of Alibaba so the partners will have more than 40 percent voting power, which meets the requirement set by HKEx.

HKEx does not allow dual-class listings, which offer more voting power to a company's founders and management than individual investors.

This means that HKEx cannot approve Alibaba's original proposal to nominate a majority of the board following the IPO in a bid to retain control of the company. But US exchanges such as the New York Exchange and NASDAQ allow dual-class listings, media reported.

However, there was a different development on Alibaba's going public reported October 5 on marketwatch.com, a financial website that is part of the same network as the Wall Street Journal.

Alibaba will not have its IPO until next year and the company will choose between New York or Shanghai to be listed, marketwatch.com reported.

Marketwatch.com predicted that Alibaba's shares would be welcome by US investors who usually favor big Internet companies.

Marketwatch.com said the dispute between HKEx and Alibaba over Alibaba's dual-class listing preference has ruined Alibaba's chances of getting listed in Hong Kong.

Alibaba will not comment on the report, a spokesperson for the company told the Global Times Monday.

Alibaba's IPO is expected to be more than $15 billion, which would make it one of the largest IPOs in the global Internet industry and a big attraction for stock exchanges around the world.