Alibaba has increased its share buyback plan to $25bn as the Chinese ecommerce group looks to boost investor confidence after slowing growth and a crackdown on the tech sector sent the company’s stock to a multiyear low.
The ecommerce group founded by Jack Ma has lost about 65 per cent of its value since Chinese authorities cancelled the initial public offering of its fintech arm Ant Group in November 2020, triggering months of regulatory scrutiny for the country’s largest tech groups.
Alibaba said on Tuesday it would increase its authorised share repurchases to $25bn from $15bn over the coming two years. The company has already repurchased $9.2bn of stock as part of the programme.