Five state-owned Chinese companies to delist from New York Stock Exchange - CNN

In late July, the Securities and Exchange Commission added Alibaba to a list of more than 150 companies that could face expulsion if their audits could not be inspected in the next three years, joining some of China's largest companies like JD.com and Baidu.

Even before the commission added Alibaba to its watch list, the company announced it would seek a primary listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Currently, Alibaba has a secondary listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

"A primary listing status in Hong Kong gives Chinese ADRs (American Depository Shares) an optionality to diversify their listing risk and retain access to the public equity market" if they are forced to leave the United States, said Goldman Sachs analysts in a recent report.

If the transition goes smoothly for Alibaba it could "set the path" for many more Chinese ADRs to pursue a similar switch, Citi analysts said.