CHINA’S biggest overseas-traded technology companies from search giant Baidu Inc. to Sogou Inc. are investigating ways to float shares on the country’s exchanges, as the Chinese Government encourages its largest corporations to bring their listings home.

Chinese enterprises have long pursued the prestige and capital associated with marquee overseas debuts. But technology businesses from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Tencent Holdings Ltd. have in recent years outstripped their peers to become the nation’s largest, and virtually none are traded domestically. Market regulators are now pushing the industry to package Chinese Depositary Receipt (CDR) for local investors, Caixin reported.

Smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. is said to be considering a mainland listing as part of a much-anticipated 2018 coming-out party. And Baidu CEO Robin Li, Sogou’s Wang Xiaochuan and Yao Jinbo, founder of the Craigslist-style service 58.com Inc., have separately declared their ambitions of listing their companies on Chinese bourses when regulations permit the creation of CDRs.

“After 2005, when we listed in America, we immediately communicated with the China Securities Regulatory Commission,” said Robin Li. “We’ve always had a dream to be listed back in China.”

Enticing mega-corporations to list locally will offer a major valuation boost thanks to the appetites of individual Chinese as well as local funds, who have few tech alternatives and face investment restrictions abroad. The recent decamping from America and listing in China helped 360 Security Technology reap a massive increase in market capitalization that greatly enriched CEO Zhou Hongyi.

The local courtship however coincides with an effort by neighboring Hong Kong to rework its regulations to enhance its attraction to the tech sector.

JD.com Inc. CEO Richard Liu has said that any listing of his logistics business may encompass mainland China. Sogou, which only recently listed in the U.S., operates mainly in China and could thus benefit from a local listing, CEO Wang Xiaochuan said. “We strongly hope to return to the A-share market,” he said.

Yao, CEO of US$11-billion web classifieds company 58.com, echoed that sentiment.

“Right now we’re all discussing how the A-share market can support the Internet industry,” Yao told reporters in Beijing. “We too hope to have the chance to return to the market.” (SD-Agencies)