Boost for Alibaba, Chairman, vice-chairman bolster share buyback

Bearish market: An employee is seen behind a glass wall with the logo of Alibaba at the company’s headquarters on the outskirts of Hangzhou. Alibaba is trading below its initial public offering price of US68 after plunging 20 in the past year as it grapples with slowing growth, the result of its reliance on a decelerating Chinese economy. — Reuters

HONG KONG: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd chairman Jack Ma and vice-chairman Joseph Tsai will bolster the company’s share buyback as they agreed to spend US$500mil of their own money purchasing stock in a vote of confidence for the e-commerce operator.

The billionaire co-founder and his lieutenant would bankroll the purchase of shares currently trading at US$66.91, Alibaba said in an e-mailed statement. The company announced in August Ma’s and Tsai’s intention to contribute to a US$4bil buyback without specifying how much they would spend.