Economics

Alibaba Pays Price for U.S. IPO as China Link Stokes Tencent

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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. spurned Hong Kong for an initial public offering after failing to get the management control it wanted. Now the company is missing out on billions of dollars flowing from mainland Chinese investors.

Hong Kong-listed Tencent Holdings Ltd. surged 40 percent this year, adding $55 billion in market value, as an exchange link with Shanghai enables mainland Chinese to invest in the nation’s biggest instant-messaging services. Shares of Alibaba have slumped 18 percent in New York. That allowed Tencent to close the gap in overall market value to its narrowest since Alibaba went public.