The revelation emerged as doubts persist about China’s post-Covid turnaround, helping trigger a market rout that’s hammered swathes of the world’s No. 2 economy. Alibaba itself lost more than 40% of its value over the past year, as the company that once defined Chinese e-commerce lost market share to PDD Holdings Inc and underwent a management reshuffle. Tuesday’s US rally coincided with a 5% gain in a key gauge of US-listed Chinese stocks, after Bloomberg reported Beijing was readying a US$278 billion market rescue package.
Alibaba Group Holding gained its most in six months after billionaire co-founder Jack Ma bought stock, a much-needed boost for a company weathering internal turmoil and a stock market rout.
China’s e-commerce pioneer gained as much as 6.7% in Hong Kong, after climbing 8% in New York. Ma, the once-outspoken billionaire who retreated from public view after Beijing clamped down in 2020, bought about US$50 million of stock last quarter, a person familiar with the situation said. Chairman Joseph Tsai — Ma’s longtime confidante — also separately bought about US$150 million of shares in his first such purchase since 2017.
