(Reuters) -Shareholders of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.com (NYSE:) have approved a plan to upgrade its Hong Kong listing to primary status, the company said Friday, a move expected to attract huge investment from mainland China.
The company founded by Jack Ma had originally proposed the idea a few years ago at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions between China and the US.
The listing status upgrade allows Alibaba to be part of a program that would connect the respective stock exchanges in Shenzhen and Shanghai with the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The decision was expected to be approved by the company’s investors, who have long been concerned about the company’s growth prospects as it faces new market competitors such as PDD Holdings.
The conversion to a dual primary listing does not imply any issuance of new shares or even fundraising by the company, Alibaba said.
The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose as much as 0.7% to HK$82.2 in early trading.
