Alibaba stock pops 7% in Hong Kong debut

Shares were last trading at 188.80 Hong Kong dollars ($24.12), higher than the 176 Hong Kong dollars ($22.50) they were priced at. The company's secondary listing could raise as much as $12.9 billion, making it the largest public offering so far this year.

Alibaba's homecoming is about pleasing China and buying trade war insurance

Alibaba trades under the stock code 9988 in Hong Kong. Nine and eight are considered to be lucky numbers in the Chinese culture, indicating long-lasting prosperity.

There's been a lot of enthusiasm for the company's arrival on the Hong Kong market. The offering has overperformed — a vote of confidence in Hong Kong, the Asian financial hub that has grappled with months of protests.

The listing also affords Alibaba the ability to impress Beijing in a big way. It's a symbolic homecoming for a company that made its initial public trading debut in New York but is one of China's technological crown jewels.

Alibaba celebrates its listing ceremony at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index (HSI), meanwhile, opened 0.7% higher. And Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKXCF), the city's sole exchange operator, rose 0.4%. Chinese internet giant Tencent (TCEHY) — Alibaba's biggest domestic rival — rose 0.7%.

Alibaba's (BABA) US-listed shares closed up nearly 2% Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. Its IPO there in 2014 raised $25 billion and shattered records as the largest in history. (Saudi Aramco could soon surpass it.)

Elsewhere in the region, South Korea's Kospi index (KOSPI) gained 0.7%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 (N225) rose 1.1%. China's Shanghai Composite (COMP) was nearly flat, but in positive territory.

US futures moved slightly higher during Asian trading hours Tuesday. The Dow (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) were up between 0.2% and 0.3%.

CNN Business' Sherrise Pham contributed to the report.

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