Alibaba Upsizes Share Repurchase To $25 Bln From $15 Bln; Stock Up

(RTTNews) - Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) were gaining around 10 percent in Hong Kong trading after the Chinese online retail giant announced Tuesday that its board has authorized to upsize its share repurchase program to $25 billion from $15 billion. According to the company, the move is a sign of confidence about its continued growth in the future.

The company also announced that Weijian Shan, executive chairman of investment group PAG, was appointed as an independent director to its board, effective March 31. He will serve on the board's audit committee. Börje Ekholm, Ericsson President and Chief Executive Officer, will retire from the board on March 31. Ekholm has served as an independent director since June 2015.

Alibaba said its Share Repurchase Program will be effective for a two-year period through March 2024. As of March 18, the company had purchased a total of 56.2 million American depositary shares under the previously announced share repurchase program, for a total consideration of approximately $9.2 billion.

Alibaba served about 1 billion consumers in China and 300 million around the world in 2021.

In Hong Kong, Alibaba Group shares were trading at HK$109.10, up 10.09 percent.

On the NYSE, Alibaba closed Monday's trading down 4.4 percent at $103.59.