ExclusiveJack Ma, Joe Tsai replace SoftBank as Alibaba’s largest shareholders by scooping up tech giant’s tumbling shares in Hong Kong, New York

Ma, who retired as Alibaba’s executive chairman in 2019, bought about US$50 million of stock in the fourth quarter, raising his stake to more than 4.3 per cent

Joe Tsai picked up US$150 million of shares through his family investment vehicle Blue Pool Capital Management

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Joe Tsai (first left) and Jack Ma (second left) during the initial public offering of Alibaba Group Holding on the New York Stock Exchange on September 19, 2014. Photo: Reuters.

Published: 10:25am, 24 Jan 2024Updated: 6:08pm, 24 Jan 2024

Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, the co-founders of Alibaba Group Holding, have emerged as the two largest shareholders of the Chinese e-commerce giant by aggressively scooping up its tumbling shares in New York and Hong Kong.

Ma, who retired as Alibaba’s executive chairman in 2019, bought about US$50 million of stock in the fourth quarter, raising his stake beyond the 4.3 per cent reported at the end of 2021, to become the largest single shareholder, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Joe Tsai, who took over Alibaba’s chairmanship from Daniel Zhang on September 10 last year, paid US$151.7 million for 1.957 million of Alibaba’s US-listed shares last quarter through his family investment vehicle Blue Pool Management, becoming the second-largest shareholder, according to a filing in New York. He owned 1.4 per cent of the company’s shares last year, according to Alibaba’s annual report.

Their aggressive buying amid an 11-per cent plunge in Alibaba’s stock price in the fourth quarter, underscored their confidence that the tech giant they established in Ma’s Hangzhou flat 25 years earlier would turn around its fortunes, sources said. It is the first time in nearly a quarter of a century for a Chinese shareholder to own the largest stake in Alibaba.