Jack Ma is putting his money where his mouth is. The Alibaba founder bought more than HK$600 million worth of the company’s Hong Kong-listed shares over consecutive days, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The purchases were made on the open market across back-to-back trading sessions. Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed stock (9988) rose 1.5% in pre-market trading on Tuesday following the news.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, BABA
One source close to the matter said the buys reflect Ma’s “strong confidence for Alibaba to realise its AI ambitions and capture the long-term growth opportunities ahead.”
Ma is not the only one reaching for his wallet.
Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai and CEO Eddie Wu Yongming collectively spent HK$202 million acquiring Alibaba shares over the same two-day period, according to Hong Kong stock market filings.
The purchases from Tsai and Wu were disclosed through mandatory filings with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, making the transactions part of the public record.
The combined insider buying from Ma, Tsai, and Wu puts the total spend at over HK$800 million in just two days.
The timing is also worth noting. The purchases come after Alibaba’s first new share issuance since 2019, a move that had drawn attention from investors watching the company’s capital strategy.
Alibaba has been positioning itself heavily around artificial intelligence over the past year. The company has rolled out AI-powered tools across its e-commerce and cloud businesses.
The source’s reference to AI ambitions lines up with that push. Ma’s buy can be read as a vote of confidence in that direction.
Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, the outlet that first reported Ma’s purchases, did not respond to a request for comment by Tuesday.
It is not common for Ma to make large open-market purchases. He stepped back from day-to-day operations at Alibaba years ago and has kept a lower profile since regulatory pressure on Chinese tech companies intensified in 2021.
This level of buying from the founder draws attention precisely because it is unusual.
Tsai and Wu’s purchases were separately confirmed through Hong Kong exchange filings, which require executives and major shareholders to disclose transactions within set timeframes.
The filings show the purchases were spread over the same two consecutive days as Ma’s buying.
Alibaba shares trade in Hong Kong under the ticker 9988. The stock was up 1.5% in pre-market trading on Tuesday following the report.
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