HONG Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. is discussing secondary listings with mainland-based technology companies including Trip.com Group Ltd. and Netease Inc. after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. raised US$13 billion in its 2019 share offering in the city, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bourse officials have held follow-up talks with the two U.S.-listed firms about the possibility of a secondary share sale, the people said. The discussions are preliminary and subject to change, they added.

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. has said it’s seeing a spike in inquiries about secondary listings from mainland firms. The interest comes at a time when U.S. scrutiny of Chinese companies has intensified.

A decision to proceed would see Trip.com, China’s biggest online travel service provider, and Netease, the nation’s second-biggest gaming company — with a combined market value of about US$60 billion — follow in the footsteps of Alibaba, which last year pulled off Hong Kong’s largest equity offering since 2010.

Alibaba’s share sale marked a triumph for the Hong Kong exchange, which has lost many of the mainland’s brightest technology stars to its U.S. rivals.

The Hong Kong bourse introduced new rules to allow dual-class shares after initially resisting such a change, a move that had prompted Alibaba’s decision to debut in New York in 2014.

More secondary listings from technology companies would bolster the Hong Kong exchange, which posted its worst profit drop in almost three years in the September quarter.

Total fundraising from Hong Kong initial public offerings will drop 27 percent in 2020 to HK$230 billion (US$29.5 billion), PwC estimated Thursday. About 180 firms may debut, with more “new economy firms” to seek listings thanks to rule reforms. (SD-Agencies)