Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. founder Jack Ma has put off plans to sell millions of dollars worth of shares after the Chinese e-commerce giant’s stock plummeted last week.
Ma has not sold a single share in Alibaba, as the stock price has not reached the level the billionaire was seeking, according to news reports.
Last week, two regulatory filings showed that Ma was looking to offload 10 million shares worth $871 million (approx). However, as Alibaba’s share prices have fallen below Ma’s expectations, he has not sold “a single share,” according to a post from Alibaba Chief People Officer Jane Jiang Fang on the company’s internal forum.
Alibaba’s shares have fallen more than 10% so far this year.
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“Ma’s office has issued a statement saying that Ma will continue to hold onto his Alibaba stake. This is a fact and not mere lip service,” Jiang said in the note. “Alibaba’s current price is significantly lower than its real value so he will not sell.” The billionaire believes that the value of Alibaba’s businesses will increase, she said.
Ma’s family office needed funds to invest in agricultural enterprises and charities in China and elsewhere, and made arrangements with a broker earlier this year for a share sale at a price set in August, Jiang said.
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Alibaba Group is currently in the midst of a major restructuring. The group originally intended to split into six separate units, each overseen by its own chief executive and board of directors.
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However, recently the Chinese e-commerce giant said it would rethink plans not just for its cloud business, but for a listing of its grocery chain Freshippo, citing a need to “evaluate market conditions.”
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Jack Ma founded Alibaba in 1999 but he stepped down as chairman of the company in 2019 before landing in hot water with Chinese authorities for criticising Chinese financial regulators and banks. Since then, the business tycoon has kept a relatively low profile while remaining an Alibaba shareholder.
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Updated: 24 Nov 2023, 06:40 AM IST