China prepares to let allow investors to buy Xiaomi, Meituan shares

A person checking out the new Xiaomi Mi 9 mobile phone ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC 19) in Barcelona, Spain. — Reuters

SHANGHAI: Chinese authorities proposed rule changes that would for the first time allow local investors to buy shares of some popular technology companies listed in Hong Kong -- including, potentially, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

The country’s stock exchanges on Friday published draft regulations that would bring stocks with different classes of voting rights into the trading links between the mainland and the former British colony, giving onshore traders access to some of China’s hottest startups.