SoftBank to ‘sell Almost All Its Alibaba Stake’
11:09 JST, April 14, 2023
BEIJING (AFP-Jiji) — Japanese tech investment titan SoftBank has decided to sell nearly all of its stake in Alibaba to limit exposure to China, The Financial Times reported Thursday.
SoftBank was an early investor in the Chinese internet giant founded by Jack Ma but began to offload its shares last year.
According to the report, SoftBank, which once owned 34% of Alibaba, has sold more than $7 billion of its shares since the start of the year through prepaid forward contracts.
Last year, it sold a record $29 billion of shares in the Chinese company, reported the FT.
Like other leading Chinese tech firms, Alibaba has been negatively impacted by a regulatory crackdown on the industry that began in 2020.
That year, Beijing pulled the plug on what would have been a gigantic Hong Kong initial public offering for Alibaba’s digital payment subsidiary Ant Group, just 48 hours before its completion.
Alibaba was then investigated for alleged anticompetitive behavior, and eventually fined a record $2.75 billion.
The company last month launched its most significant organizational restructuring since its founding, splitting its operations into six separate entities.
Chinese authorities seem to have adopted a more conciliatory posture toward the domestic industry in recent months, but uncertainty around the sector remains.
"Business" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
G20 Sees Soft Landing for Global Economy; Leaders Pledge to Resist Protectionism as Trump Calls for Imported Goods Flat Tariff
-
Japanese Automakers Team Up on Software Development; Aim to Compete with U.S., China in SDV Market
-
China Struggles to Develop Passenger Jet to Rival Boeing, Airbus; Russian Cooperation Falls
-
Japanese Cosmetics Firms Competing with South Korean Brands over Inexpensive Products; South Korean Brands Dominating Market Through Social Media
-
Call Centers Using AI to Address Customer Harassment: NTT and Fujitsu Develop Programs to Improve Employee Interactions, Reduce Turnover
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Asukayama Monorail in Tokyo: Free to Ride!
- Japan Trying to Draw Digital Nomads, Who Are Seen as Beneficial to Economy, Society
- JICA Employee Suspected of Leaking Info on ODA Project in Manila; Bidding for Railway Renovation May Have Been Impacted
- G20 Sees Soft Landing for Global Economy; Leaders Pledge to Resist Protectionism as Trump Calls for Imported Goods Flat Tariff
- Japanese Automakers Team Up on Software Development; Aim to Compete with U.S., China in SDV Market