Together with Joe Tsai, the co-founders of Alibaba, they purchased a total of $200 million in shares of the e-commerce giant.

According to a report by the New York Times on January 23, Jack Ma bought $50 million worth of Alibaba shares on the Hong Kong exchange in the fourth quarter of 2023. On the same day, Blue Pool – the asset management fund of Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai – revealed that Tsai had bought nearly 2 million Alibaba shares listed in the US, amounting to $152 million in the last quarter.

This news led to an 8% increase in Alibaba shares on the New York Stock Exchange on January 23, while on the Hong Kong exchange, the stock saw a 4% rise. However, Alibaba shares have experienced a 5.5% decline on the Hong Kong exchange since the beginning of the year.

In November, Alibaba had announced that Jack Ma’s asset management fund planned to sell 10 million Alibaba shares, valued at $871 million.

Jack Ma, who has been relatively silent in recent years, faced scrutiny after delivering a speech criticizing the Chinese financial system in 2020. Following this, he resigned as Chairman of Alibaba in 2019 and stepped down from the Board of Directors in 2020, though he still holds significant influence within the company.

Alibaba is currently undergoing a period of reform. In November, the company abandoned its plan to separate the cloud computing segment due to uncertainties related to US export restrictions on AI-related technology. This separation plan was initially part of a strategy announced in March 2023 to divide the group into six subsidiaries.

In the e-commerce sector, Alibaba is facing intense competition from Pinduoduo, and the slower-than-expected retail recovery in China post-pandemic is adding further pressure on the company.

In December 2023, Alibaba announced that CEO Eddie Wu would take on the additional role of CEO of e-commerce, just days after being appointed as the head of cloud computing.

Ha Thu (according to Reuters, CNBC)