Its decision is a victory for Hong Kong, which missed out on blockbuster stock offerings by Alibaba and other rising internet companies in mainland China in recent years. “There has been somewhat of a campaign to bring companies home and remove them from foreign jurisdictions,” Mr. Webb said. While Hong Kong is officially a special administrative region within the People’s Republic of China, and has a separate legal and financial system, Beijing sees it as a part of the mainland. In the past, Chinese entrepreneurs like Jack Ma of Alibaba chose to list their shares in markets, like New York, where they could operate as though their companies were still private. They were able to offer so-called dual-class shares, which give shareholders little say in the operations of the business.

Source: New York Times May 03, 2018 02:20 UTC