NEW YORK – Alibaba Group Holding shares jumped after The New York Times reported that founder Jack Ma has been buying up shares in the company.
Mr Ma and Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai have bought a combined US$202 million (S$271 million) of shares in recent months as the stock plunged, the newspaper reported on Jan 23, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
The share purchases reflect Mr Ma’s and Mr Tsai’s belief that the business is undervalued after its stock fell sharply from its 2020 peak, the Times reported. Alibaba is valued at about US$175 billion.
Alibaba’s US-traded shares gained as much as 8.6 per cent in New York on Jan 23, the most intraday since last July.
They had declined 43 per cent over the past 12 months as Alibaba, once the most valuable company in China, has fallen behind Chinese rivals like Tencent Holdings and PDD Holdings.
Mr Tsai’s Blue Pool Management family investment vehicle purchased almost two million of Alibaba’s US-traded shares in the fourth quarter, worth about US$152 million, according to a securities filing on Jan 23.
It was the first time Mr Tsai’s fund has purchased Alibaba shares since at least the last quarter of 2017, according to a review of regulatory filings.
Mr Ma, who gave up his role as executive chairman in 2019 but is still a major shareholder, bought US$50 million worth of stock in the quarter, the Times reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
Mr Ma, the once-outspoken billionaire who stayed out of public view after clashing with Beijing, took to an internal message board in 2023 to urge Alibaba to “correct its course” and praised PDD, which has been swiping market share with its hit shopping app Temu.
Mr Ma said Alibaba could again be successful with determination and hard work.
Mr Ma has been selling shares in Alibaba in recent years, and his stake in the business had dropped below 5 per cent.
He disclosed plans to sell 10 million shares worth about US$870 million on Nov 21 through two companies he owns, JC Properties and JSP Investment, according to regulatory filings in 2023. BLOOMBERG
