Alibaba's HK offering largest of 2019 so far

Alibaba said that based on its issue price of HK$176 per share, it raised HK$101.2 billion by selling 575 million new shares to investors. The company noted that the retail portion was oversubscribed by 42 times.

With a market capitalization of more than HK$4 trillion, the e-commerce behemoth, the first Chinese mainland-based internet company dual listed in the US and Hong Kong, now knocks Tencent Holdings off the top spot to become the most valuable company by market capitalization on the Hong Kong exchange.

"As Alibaba and Tencent look to join hands to serve as a pair of anchors of stability, it will be more and more difficult for short sellers to attack the Hong Kong stock market, sharpening the city's edge as a go-to IPO destination for promising firms," said Li Daxiao, chief economist at Yingda Securities.

Li believed the Hangzhou-based company also sets a clear example for overseas-listed Chinese mainland companies, especially those with weighted voting-right structures, to follow suit and head back home.