China’s internet giants snap up their own shares to boost flagging stock market value
CNN
Chinese internet giants are buying back their shares at a record pace, as they try to boost their market value in the midst of a historic stock rout in the world’s second largest economy.
Chinese internet giants are buying back their shares at a record pace, as they try to boost their market value in the midst of a historic stock rout in the world’s second largest economy. Alibaba Group (BABA) announced Tuesday that it had bought back $12.5 billion of shares from the US and Hong Kong markets, representing 5.1% of its outstanding shares, in the fiscal year ended March 31. That would mark the biggest share repurchase by a Chinese tech company in the past year. In the first quarter alone, Alibaba spent $4.8 billion in buybacks, its second biggest quarterly repurchase in history. A share buyback usually triggers an increase in price because there will be fewer shares available on the market. Alibaba’s stock has lost more than a quarter of its value in the past year.