Alibaba Recovers After Report on ‘Ma’ Briefly Erased $26 Billion
彭博社
https://reurl.cc/zZMQ2N
A brief bout of concern about the status of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-foun
der Jack Ma triggered wild swings in shares of the e-commerce company on Tuesd
ay, underscoring continued investor anxiety toward China’s tech sector after
a year-long crackdown.
Alibaba plunged as much as 9.4% in Hong Kong, erasing about $26 billion of mar
ket value, after state broadcaster CCTV reported that authorities in the compa
ny’s home base of Hangzhou had imposed curbs on an individual surnamed Ma.
The stock rebounded after a statement from Hangzhou police indicated the accus
ed person’s name covered three characters. CCTV also updated its report to sh
ow a third character. Jack Ma’s Chinese name is the two-character Ma Yun.
The accused person works as the director of hardware research and development
at an IT company, the state-run Global Times reported, citing unidentified sou
rces. CCTV said the person was placed under so-called “compulsory measures”
on April 25 after being accused of inciting subversion of state power and othe
r activities that endangered national security.
CCTV’s two-sentence report lacked other details but rattled investors already
on edge over Beijing’s clampdown over every corner of the internet sphere, w
hich kicked off by targeting Ma. Regulators halted the IPO of Ma’s Ant Group
Co. before waging a campaign to rein in alleged abuses and excesses by increas
ingly powerful internet firms.
Chinese authorities in the city of Hangzhou, where both Alibaba and Ant are ba
sed, were unavailable for comment during the Golden Week holidays. Representat
ives for Alibaba and Ant didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Alibaba shares slipped 0.1% to HK$102 at 11:15 a.m. in Hong Kong.