Alibaba Group geared for blockbuster $13.4-billion listing in Hong Kong

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is poised to launch a Hong Kong share sale expected to raise up to $13.4 billion as soon as Thursday, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions.

The deal – which would be the world’s biggest cross-border secondary listing – will be seen as a boost for Hong Kong, which has sunk into its first recession in a decade as more than five months of street protests and worries about the U.S.-China trade war took their toll.

While Alibaba executives are preparing for a Thursday launch, another source said the timing could slip depending on developments in the protests.