Alibaba announces US$6bil buyback but misses EPS forecast

Alibaba’s plan: An employee is seen behind a glass wall with the logo of Alibaba at the company’s headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. The company plans to buy back shares worth up to US6bil over two years. – Reuters

NEW YORK: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd plans to buy back shares worth up to US$6bil over two years, the company said as it beat first-quarter revenue forecasts but fell short of earnings estimates.

The Chinese company, which is targeting news business lines such as cloud computing, big data, entertainment and offline retail as it expands beyond e-commerce, said the share repurchase scheme would replace its existing buyback programme.