Alibaba is prepared to scrap plans for a $60bn share sale in Hong Kong and switch its listing to New York if the senior management cannot nominate a majority of board directors, according to people close to the company.
Founder Jack Ma and other top executives own little more than 10 per cent of China’s biggest e-commerce company. But they want to control the make-up of the board so they can defend Alibaba’s strategic direction and culture in the way US technology groups, such as Google, have done through dual-class shares.
Hong Kong listing rules ban dual-class shares that give more voting power to a small group of owners. The local market regulator is expected to stick to its principles that any corporate structure has to treat all shareholders fairly. The stand-off could see Hong Kong and China lose one of the world’s most eagerly anticipated listings since Facebook, even though Alibaba has been planning for months to list on the island.