Alibaba founder Jack Ma bought company's shares worth $50 billion in Q4: Report

Jack Ma Alibaba investment: Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma and Chairman Joe Tsai reportedly invested significantly in shares of the Chinese e-commerce giant during the fourth quarter, as revealed by the New York Times on Tuesday. This news prompted a notable uptick of approximately 7 per cent in the company's US-listed shares.

According to the report, Jack Ma purchased Alibaba shares valued at $50 million on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Simultaneously, Chairman Joe Tsai acquired around $151 million worth of Alibaba's US-listed shares in the same quarter through his family investment entity, Blue Pool Management.

While the Jack Ma Foundation, responsible for media inquiries on behalf of the Chinese billionaire, did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment, it's noteworthy that in November, Alibaba had announced plans for the family trust of Jack Ma to sell 10 million American Depository Shares (ADS) of Alibaba Group Holdings, amounting to approximately $871 million.

Alibaba has been undergoing a significant restructuring process, abandoning the spinoff of its cloud business in November due to uncertainties arising from US export curbs on technology used in artificial intelligence applications. The intended spinoff was part of Alibaba's broader strategy to divide its operations into six primary units covering e-commerce, media, and cloud services.

Facing intensified competition, particularly from PDD Holdings' Pinduoduo, Alibaba has encountered challenges in the Chinese online shopping market. Additionally, the slower-than-expected recovery in retail following the easing of pandemic restrictions has added pressure on the company.

In December, Alibaba announced that group CEO Eddie Wu would take on the role of CEO for its domestic e-commerce arm Taobao and Tmall Group, shortly after assuming leadership of the cloud business.

(With Reuters inputs.)