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Bloomberg
Alibaba Group soared 11% after ramping up its share buyback program to $25 billion, fuelling hopes that Beijing is easing off an internet crackdown that wiped out $470 billion of the e-commerce giant’s value.
The board approved the program, which will run for two years through to March 2024, the company said. It also appointed a new independent director in Shan Weijian, chairman of alternative asset management house PAG. Shan, a longtime investor in Chinese companies, will replace Ericsson Chief Executive Officer Börje Ekholm from March 31.
Alibaba’s up-sized buyback represents one of the largest shareholder-reward programs in China’s giant internet industry, and coincides with a re-calibration of sentiment after Xi Jinping and his deputy Liu He pledged to support the economy and markets and finish the clampdown on tech sector “as soon as possible†— triggering a historic rally in Chinese stocks.
China’s largest companies are only just starting to emerge from a year of unparalleled regulatory scrutiny into sectors from online commerce to social media.