(Yicai Global) Jan. 25-- Baidu’s shareholders are to vote on a proposed stock split amid speculation that the Chinese internet giant plans a secondary listing in Hong Kong.

Baidu will propose a one-to-80 stock split at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders on March 1, the Beijing-based company said in a statement dated Jan. 22. Subject to approval, each American depositary share would represent eight Class A ordinary shares, compared with 10 ADSs representing one ordinary share now.

Publicly traded companies subdivide their equity to lower the threshold for new investors. E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding conducted a one-to-eight stock split before its secondary listing in Hong Kong in November 2019.

Baidu has filed with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing for a secondary listing, Tencent News reported on Jan. 22. Baidu has not commented on the report. Bloomberg News said on Jan. 7 that the firm is looking to raise at least USD3.5 billion by selling up to 9 percent of its outstanding stock inHong Kongas soon as June.

The proposed stock split would not affect the value of its Nasdaq-listed shares, Baidu added. They [NASDAQ: BIDU] were 3.7 percent higher in pre-market trading at 6.45 a.m. in New York today, after gaining 0.3 percent to close at USD252.75 on Jan. 22.

Editor: Emmi Laine