Internet giant Alibaba has become the first mainland Chinese company to join the ranks of stocks most commonly held by the world's big institutional investors, according to data provider eVestment.

eVestment, which tracks $11.2tn's worth of equities managed for investors like pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and endowments, said Alibaba became the 20th most widely held stock as of the end of last year, in the most recent update of its regular Institutional Stock Ownership Report.