Jack Ma positive about Alibaba, will continue to hold shares

Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma is “very positive” about the company and will continue to hold his shares, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday, citing a statement from his office.

The comments from Ma’s office come a day after a regulatory filing showed his family trust was willing to sell 10 million of Alibaba Group Holdings’ American Depository Shares, for about $871 million.

The gradual sale is part of a “long-standing pre-arranged conditional plan to conduct a partial sale for the future” that was adopted in August, but “not a single share has been sold,” the publication said, citing Ma’s office. .

“We believe the current share price is below its fair value.”

Alibaba did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The sale will be on November 21 by JSP Investment and JC Properties, funds that are part of Ma’s family trust.
The share sale announcement, along with Alibaba’s statement Thursday that it was abandoning plans to list its cloud unit in light of U.S. chip import restrictions, dragged the company’s shares down. Hong Kong down almost 10% on Friday.

Ma stepped down as chairman of Alibaba in 2019, but remains a major shareholder through his family trust.
SCMP is owned by Alibaba.