Hong Kong, not US, could score mega Xiaomi, Aramco IPOs

The U.S. could lose out on two massive initial public offerings (IPOs) as Hong Kong seeks to open its markets to attract a larger percentage of new listings.

The chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., Charles Li, expressed confidence at a Wall Street Journal conference in the city that both Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant, Saudi Aramco, and Chinese technology giant Xiaomi will eventually list there, the Journal reported on Friday.

This comes as China is making a push to attract and maintain more high-powered listings. Many companies throughout recent years decided to list overseas in order to attract more consistent sources of financing, but the country’s securities regulator is looking to launch a class of securities in a bid to incite more companies to stay there, the Journal reported. It also aims to bring back some companies that have listed elsewhere.

While President Donald Trump has publicly advocated for the crown prince of Saudi Arabia to list Aramco on a U.S. exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), experts have told FOX Business that New York may not be the best choice for Saudi Arabia because of litigation concerns arising from U.S. legislation that allows family members of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudis.

Meanwhile, Xiaomi, which creates software and consumer electronics, is expected to be one of the largest IPOs in recent years. The company is close to finalizing plans, and will likely list in Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter told The Financial Times.

The NYSE won out over Hong Kong for the massive Alibaba IPO in 2014, when the e-commerce behemoth raised a record-breaking $25 billion. At the time, it was the largest IPO ever.