Alibaba files to list in Hong Kong

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has filed confidentially for a Hong Kong listing that will take place as soon as the third quarter of this year, a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The listing could raise as much as $20 billion, sources said last month, smaller than its record $25 billion float in New York five years ago. At that time, founder Jack Ma expressed a desire to list in the Hong Kong but the tech firm's management structure clashed with bourse rules. The stock exchange there has since changed its listing rules, primarily to attract China's tech startups. The latest deal would be the biggest follow-on share sale globally in seven years and give Alibaba ample funds for technology investment - a priority for China as economic growth flags and a trade spat with the United States intensifies.