Alibaba Group gains as Jack Ma, Tsai reportedly buy $200 million in stock

By Robin Ajello

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. shares jumped after the New York Times reported that founder Jack Ma has been buying up shares in the company. 
 

Ma and Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai have both being buying up shares in recent months as the stock plunged, the newspaper reported Tuesday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Alibaba’s US-traded shares gained as much as 6.6% as the market opened in New York, the most since last August. They’ve fallen 43% over the past 12 months as Alibaba, once the most valuable company in China, has fallen behind Chinese rivals like Tencent Holdings Ltd. and PDD Holdings Inc.

Ma, the once-outspoken billionaire who stayed out of public view after clashing with Beijing, took to an internal message board last year to urge Alibaba to “correct its course” and praised PDD, which has been swiping market share with its hit shopping app Temu. Ma said Alibaba could again be successful with determination and hard work.

Tsai has purchased about $151 million worth of Alibaba’s US traded shares in the fourth quarter through his Blue Pool Management family investment vehicle, the Times reported, citing a securities filing on Tuesday. Ma who gave up his role as executive chairman in 2019 but is still a major shareholder, bought $50 million worth of stock in the quarter, the Times reported citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

The share purchases reflect Ma’s and Tsai’s belief that the business is undervalued after its stock fell sharply from its 2020 peak, the New York Times reported. Alibaba is valued at about $175 billion.