Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says it will not sell shares in Ant’s buyback

ZEN SOO

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says it does not plan to sell any shares in its one-third shareholding in financial technology company Ant Group because it wants to retain its stake in an “important strategic partner.”

Alibaba Group Holdings said in a filing Sunday that it will not participate in Ant’s share buyback program. It allows shareholders to sell back up to 7.6% of their holdings at an unspecified price that values the company at 567.1 billion yuan ($78.8 billion).

Ant, which operates one of China’s leading mobile payments services Alipay, has seen its valuation fall nearly 70% from about $280 billion ($38.9 billion) at the time it was planning an IPO in 2020. 

That was derailed by regulators who conducted an investigation into the firm and then fined it nearly $100 billion for violating laws and regulations in the payments sector.

Given the plunge in Ant’s valuation, investors