Baidu Group has announced that The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong has confirmed receipt of its application for a voluntary conversion to a primary listing in Hong Kong.
The company's board had previously authorized management to proceed with the voluntary conversion to a primary listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Exchange, which is expected to take effect within this year.
Market analysts note that the swift confirmation from the exchange, coming just a week after the initial announcement, indicates the process is advancing rapidly.
Financial firm Jefferies views the move towards a dual primary listing as a positive signal, suggesting it could potentially lead to the stock's inclusion in the Stock Connect program as early as September.
An expert from Tsinghua University's Center for Strategic Emerging Industries commented that the current market valuation of Baidu remains largely tied to its traditional search advertising model, with its AI businesses being significantly undervalued.
Inclusion in the Stock Connect program is expected to lead to more appropriate valuation of its AI units, such as Kunlun Chips, Apollo Go robotaxi service, and its intelligent cloud business, which could subsequently improve the company's share price performance and support market capitalization recovery.
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