Alibaba, JD Logistics shares slide as Japan’s SoftBank reportedly plans major sell-off of US$36 billion China portfolio

Name: After long absence from China, Jack Ma makes rare appearance to visit school in Hangzhou
Uploaded: 2023-04-13T06:23:07.000Z
Duration: 2 min 17 s
Description: After long absence from China, Jack Ma makes rare appearance to visit school in Hangzhou

The divestment may take the heat out of a recent run-up in Chinese tech stocks as they recover from Beijing’s regulatory crackdown

SoftBank may reduce its stake in Alibaba to less than 4 per cent from about 14 per cent, the Financial Times reported

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SoftBank may reduce its stake in Alibaba to less than 4 per cent from about 14 per cent, the Financial Times reported. Photo: AFP

Zhang Shidongin Shanghai

Published: 2:23pm, 13 Apr 2023Updated: 4:49pm, 13 Apr 2023

Alibaba Group and other Chinese technology companies held by SoftBank Group are facing a new threat to their share prices, having survived Beijing’s regulatory crackdown: the Japanese investment firm reportedly plans to trim its portfolio of Chinese assets valued at more than US$30 billion.

Shares of Alibaba and JD Logistics slumped in Hong Kong on Thursday while digital freight platform Full Truck Alliance and social media company Renren sank in the US overnight after the Financial Times reported that SoftBank was seeking to sell most of its stake in Alibaba.

SoftBank, which was founded by billionaire investor Masayoshi Son, holds US$36.8 billion worth of stakes in 11 Chinese companies trading in Hong Kong and the US, according to Bloomberg data. By far the biggest is its stake in e-commerce giant Alibaba valued at US$35.2 billion, while it also holds US$1.32 billion of Full Truck Alliance shares and US$196 million of JD Logistics stock, the data shows.

Alibaba owns this newspaper. SoftBank has not responded to a request for comment.

The divestment plan may take the heat out of a recent run-up in Chinese tech stocks spurred by optimism that Beijing’s regulatory crackdown has run its course after the reappearance of Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma Yun and the company’s sweeping reorganisation of its business structure.

02:17

After long absence from China, Jack Ma makes rare appearance to visit school in Hangzhou

The Hang Seng Tech Index surged almost 10 per cent last month, while the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 3.6 per cent in the same period.

Alibaba, JD Logistics shares slide as Japan’s SoftBank reportedly plans major sell-off of US$36 billion China portfolio

The divestment may take the heat out of a recent run-up in Chinese tech stocks as they recover from Beijing’s regulatory crackdown SoftBank may reduce its stake in Alibaba to less than 4 per cent from about 14 per cent, the Financial Times reported

The divestment may take the heat out of a recent run-up in Chinese tech stocks as they recover from Beijing’s regulatory crackdown

SoftBank may reduce its stake in Alibaba to less than 4 per cent from about 14 per cent, the Financial Times reported