Guangzhou Evergrande FC to be listed on trading board

Evergrande Real Estate Group said on Thursday that it planned to list the football team it jointly owns with Alibaba Group Holdings on National Equities Exchange and Quotations, China’s small-cap equities trading platform also known as the “New Third Board”.

Evergrande recently boosted its stake in the Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club to 60 per cent, regaining control from Alibaba, local media reported.

The real estate firm said it has applied to the New Third Board for the listing of the football club with the hopes of bringing in strategic investors and improving the brand.

“The listing of Evergrande Taobao will further strengthen its corporate governance structure and enhance the liquidity of its equity interest,” Evergrande said in a regulatory filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Valuations on the New Third Board rose rapidly earlier this year as China’s main stock indices in Shanghai and Shenzhen recorded the highest gains since 2007.