Hong Kong regulator withholds approval of dual-class shareholding structures

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has shot down a proposal to let companies with different classes of shares list on the territory’s stock exchange, South China Morning Post reported, citing a statement from the commission. The statement, which asserts that share classes providing holders greater voting rights would harm Hong Kong securities markets’ reputation, came just a week after Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing said it would open another round of consultation on the matter. The debate over such shares was revived last year when Alibaba Group Holding (BABA.NYSE) was rejected for listing in Hong Kong and ultimately went public in New York, which allows dual-class shareholding structures.