Baidu Seeks Hong Kong Listing Akin To Alibaba: Reuters

Chinese search giant Baidu Inc (NASDAQ: BIDU) will launch Hong Kong’s secondary listing on Friday. The company plans to sell around 4% of its shares, potentially raising $3 billion at the present valuation, Reuters reports.

• Baidu’s Nasdaq listed stock gained 18.1% year-to-date at $255.14. The stock price reached a peak of $339.91 on Feb. 19.
• The deal was ready since at least Tuesday. However, Baidu waited for the ease off in tech share volatility.
• Advisors have been closely watching the Hang Seng Tech Index, which fell 6.4% on Monday, marking the largest daily decline since July 16, 2020. The index rose over 5% on Thursday but remains down 1.2% for the week over negative sentiments on the city’s tech stocks.
• Baidu joins a bevy of U.S.-listed Chinese companies planning to get listed in Hong Kong, led by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) in 2019 when it sold $12.9 billion worth shares in Hong Kong to diversify from its sole New York listing. There were 12 secondary listings in 2020, which raised $19.06 billion.
• Price action: BIDU shares are up 4.55% at $266.75 in the pre-market session on the last check Thursday.