"Alibaba\u2019s $10 billion buyback plan fails to halt stock slide as regulatory concerns mount"

" \n Alibaba shares slumped 9% to their lowest since June on Monday, as the firm\u2019s upsized $10 billion buyback programme failed to ease concerns about a regulatory crackdown on co-founder Jack Ma\u2019s e-commerce and financial empire. \n \n\n \n A sharp sell-off over two sessions has knocked almost $116 billion off the tech giant\u2019s Hong Kong-listed shares. \n \n\n \n The downward spiral intensified when Chinese regulators announced on Thursday the launch of an antitrust investigation into Alibaba and said they would summon its Ant Group affiliate to meet. \n \n\n \n Alibaba\u2019s U.S. shares sank more than 15% during the day. \n \n\n \n \u201cThe antitrust investigation into Alibaba has yet to specify the penalties, which is worrying investors a lot,\u201d said Zhang Zihua, chief investment officer of Beijing Yunyi Asset, adding a probe outcome could \u201cgreatly change\u201d the company valuations. \n \n\n \n Putting investors more on edge was news over the weekend that China\u2019s central bank had asked Ant to shake up its lending and other consumer finance operations. \n \n\n \n These developments are part of a crackdown on monopolistic behaviour in China\u2019s booming internet space in general, but Ma\u2019s business empire in particular after he publicly criticized the regulatory system for stifling innovation. \n \n\n \n Last month, Chinese regulators abruptly suspended Ant\u2019s blockbuster $37 billion initial public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which was on track to be the world\u2019s largest, just two days before its planned debut. \n \n\n \n \u201cThe new regulations are hurting big internet platforms, so you see Tencent and other tech companies are also seeing their share prices going down,\u201d said Li Chengdong, a Beijing-based tech analyst. \n \n\n \n \u201cAlibaba now is the target of the regulators so the reaction is stronger.\u201d \n \n\n \n Regulators have warned Alibaba about the so-called \u201cchoosing one from two\u201d practice under which merchants are forced to sign exclusive cooperation pacts preventing them from offering products on rival platforms. \n \n\n \n The State Administration for Market Regulation said on Thursday that it had launched a probe into the practice. \n \n\n \n The gloom due to the regulatory crackdown overshadowed Alibaba\u2019s decision, announced on Sunday, to raise its share repurchase programme to $10 billion from $6 billion, effective for a two-year period through the end of 2022. \n \n\n \n Alibaba shares could trade lower in the near term due to the \u201cregulatory overhang\u201d, Nomura said in a note on Monday. \n \n\n \n But the cheaper value will be attractive for long-term investors, Nomura added as it kept a \u201cbuy\u201d rating on Alibaba\u2019s U.S.-listed stock and retained a target price of $361. \n \n\n \n Alibaba's stock closed at $222 on Thursday. \n "

"Alibaba\u2019s $10 billion buyback plan fails to halt stock slide as regulatory concerns mount"

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