On August 28, Alibaba announced that the previously announced voluntary conversion of the company's secondary listing status to primary listing status on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange became effective. Alibaba is now a dual primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

Alibaba said the company's ordinary shares listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and American Depositary Shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange are continuously convertible.

Back in May of this year, Alibaba revealed the dual listing on the two exchanges.

Last week, Alibaba formally announced that it has added Hong Kong as its primary listing and will have a primary listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on August 28, which will make it a dual primary listing on the HKSE and NYSE when it takes effect. The announcement also pointed out that Alibaba's voluntary conversion to dual primary listing does not involve the company's new share issuance and financing.

Analysts believe that Alibaba's move is aimed at attracting capital from mainland China. Alibaba will be eligible for inclusion in the Hong Kong Stock Connect after completing its dual primary listing, and the company's capital position will improve.

Once Alibaba enters the HK Stock Connect, mainland investors will be able to buy Alibaba shares through the exchange's connectivity quota. This will hopefully free up the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) quota that currently holds the company's shares. QDII allows institutional investors who meet certain conditions to invest in foreign securities within a prescribed quota.

With reference to the size of existing QDII funds' holdings in Alibaba, up to about $3.2 billion in QDII quota could be freed up if those shares were held on the Hong Kong Stock Connect instead. QDII funds investing in U.S. stocks are expected to be the biggest beneficiaries under the quota release, analyst Rebecca Sin said in a report.

However, it is important to note that the impact will not be felt immediately. Based on past experience, fund managers tend to gradually reduce their holdings through redemptions and subscriptions, so it may take about three years to complete the quota replacement.

In addition, according to a report by CICC, Alibaba completed its dual primary listing conversion at the end of August and will be ready in time for the September 5 HK Stock Connect inspection day and is expected to be included in the HK Stock Connect on September 9th.