PDD - Chinese tech stocks slip into the red as Alibaba sets plans for Hong Kong listing

Leading Chinese tech stocks showed little momentum Tuesday following e-commerce giant Alibaba ( NYSE: BABA ) saying it plans to apply for a primary stock listing in Hong Kong.

Before U.S. stock markets opened, Alibaba ( BABA ) said that it expects to have its shares listed in Hong Kong by the end of the year. Alibaba ( BABA ) said that the company would then have its ordinary shares listed in Hong Kong, while its American depository shares will remain listed in New York.

"Hong Kong is also the launch pad for Alibaba's globalization strategy," said Alibaba Chief Executive Daniel Zhang, in a statement. "And we are fully confident in China's economy and future."

Alibaba's ( BABA ) plans come in the wake of Chinese ride-sharing leader DiDi Global ( OTCPK:DIDIY ) moved its share registration to Hong Kong from New York this year.

Many Chinese companies have been caught between pressure at home over matters such as regulatory issues and how they secure the personal information of their customers, and steps that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has taken to strengthen auditing inspections of those companies operations. A new U.S. law states that companies whose auditors can't be inspected by American regulators for three-straight years can be delisted from U.S. stock markets.

Alibaba ( BABA ) shares pulled back from their session highs, but still remained up by 0.6%.

Other leading Chinese tech companies dipped into the red as trading progressed. Baidu ( BIDU ) was down by 1%, Weibo ( WB ) was off by 2.4%, Tencent Holdings ( OTCPK:TCEHY ) and Pinduoduo ( PDD ) each slipped by about 1%, JOYY Inc. ( YY ) was down by 1.4% and NetEase ( NTES ) was down by 2.5%.

Last week, Bernstein analyst Robin Zhu upgraded Alibaba ( BABA ) to outperform from market perform on the grounds that "winter is ending" for the Chinese tech kingpin .

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