Hong Kong regulators have begun allowing companies to avoid stringent rules on bond issuances and share buybacks, following the success of a $5bn transaction launched by Alibaba last year.
China’s largest technology company borrowed $5bn at near-zero rates in May 2024 through an issuance of debt that can be turned into equity, in the biggest ever convertible bond deal in the Asia-Pacific region.
It then used the proceeds to buy back its New York-listed shares — which had fallen by about 75 per cent from their late 2020 peak — in the following weeks. Since then the shares have recovered from roughly $80 to about $147 — a more than 80 per cent gain — helped by a broader rally in Chinese stocks and the rapid emergence of AI company DeepSeek, which has fuelled global investor interest in China’s tech sector.