Alibaba: our stock price does not fairly reflect the company’s value
Alibaba Group said it will hike its share repurchase program to $25 billion from $15 billion, the largest ever buyback undertaken of a Chinese internet stock.
The buyback will run for two years through March 2024, Alibaba said on Tuesday after its board authorized the upsized share repurchase program.
The move sent Alibaba’s shares over 11% higher in Hong Kong trading to close at HK$110.20.
“The upsized share buyback underscores our confidence in Alibaba’s long-term, sustainable growth potential and value creation,” said Alibaba Group’s Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Toby Xu.
As of March 18, the company has purchased 56.2 million American depositary shares (ADS) under the previously announced buyback program for $9.2 billion.
“Alibaba’s stock price does not fairly reflect the company’s value given our robust financial health and expansion plans”
As the shares slipped lower, Alibaba has ramped up its purchases. In May 2019, Alibaba announced a two-year buyback of $6 billion, then expanded it to $10 billion in December 2020 and again in August to $15 billion.
The Hangzhou-based group has purchased $1.5 billion worth of stock since January.
“Alibaba’s stock price does not fairly reflect the company’s value given our robust financial health and expansion plans,” said Xu.
