Domestic overseas-listed technology companies are accelerating their pace of shifting their stock market listings to China, and overseas investors said that the move will not slow down their investment pace in China.
"So far, we don't see any reason to slow down our investment pace in China," Yuri Milner, the founder of DST Global, a California-based investment firm, told the Global Times on Saturday.
"Some [Chinese] companies have local listings, some companies actually do dual listings and some companies do listings just outside of China. So I think there would be a variation, and in different companies we will choose different strategies," he said.
According to a Reuters report on Friday, Alibaba is planning to get A-share listings in China in the middle of 2018, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
The listings will use China Depositary Receipts (CDRs), which are certificates that allow offshore-listed companies based in the Chinese mainland to sell shares on Chinese exchanges.
"The new rules on CDRs may be introduced as soon as the end of next month, so the first batch of issuers may launch CDRs as soon as the middle of this year," according to the person.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that China's securities regulator might release guidelines for CDRs in the second half of 2018, citing sources. The total volume of fundraising of Alibaba's CDR plans may be more than 10 billion yuan ($1.58 billion), Reuters reported. Alibaba is now listed in New York with a market capitalization of $473 billion.
Other major technology companies have expressed enthusiasm about listings in China, but no further details have emerged.
Pony Ma Huateng, CEO of Hong Kong-listed Tencent Holdings, said the company would pursue a listing in the mainland when the conditions are ripe.
William Ding Lei, founder and CEO of NASDAQ-listed Chinese gaming giant NetEase said that the company would certainly consider relisting in the A-share market.
According to a report from sina.com on March 3, the first group of Chinese companies that are permitted to have CDRs includes Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com and Ctrip.
"The driving force of our investment in China in the future will still be major technology breakthroughs," said Milner.
