Should Listed Companies Be Allowed to Adopt Dual-Class Share Structure in Hong Kong?

The request of Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce firm, to allow a self-selected group of its past and present management known as the ‘partners' the right to nominate a majority of the directors in its negotiation with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for an initial public offering has reignited a new round of debate over the one share, one vote policy, which has survived for 27 years in Hong Kong. This paper discusses the viability of allowing the dual-class share structure in the city. Although the United States has adopted dual-class share structures for decades, this paper identifies the major institutional differences between Hong Kong and the United States and argues that Hong Kong should not follow suit due to these differences.