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REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoAug 10 (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding (9988.HK) reported its strongest quarterly revenue growth in almost two years on Thursday, boosted by a mid-year shopping festival that attracted bargain hunting consumers amid a sober economic environment. The Chinese e-commerce giant posted first-quarter revenue of 234.16 billion yuan ($32.29 billion), up 14% from the prior-year quarter which was hit by strict pandemic lockdowns. The figurebeat analysts' estimates of 224.92 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv data. Regulatory concern has eased for China's tech giants, including Alibaba, this year, with Chinese authorities keen to boost private sector confidence. (1 Chinese yuan renminbi = $0.1387)Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Daniel Zhang, Eddie Yongming Wu, Alibaba's, Joseph Tsai, Yuvraj Malik, Shounak Dasgupta, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, HK, Cloud Intelligence Group, Tmall, PDD Holdings, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, Alibaba, Bengaluru

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on Thursday said revenue grew by 14% year on year in the quarter ended June 30. Here's how Alibaba did in the June quarter versus Refinitiv consensus estimates:Revenue: 234.16 billion yuan ($32.29 billion) versus 224.92 billion yuan expected, up 14 % year on year. 234.16 billion yuan ($32.29 billion) versus 224.92 billion yuan expected, up 14 year on year. Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders: 34.33 billion yuan versus 28.66 billion yuan expected, up 51% year on year. Alibaba's main business, Taobao and Tmall Group, saw revenue rise 12% year on year to 114.95 billion yuan in the June quarter.

Persons: Alibaba Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, Tmall Locations: Shanghai, China, U.S

☆ Ant group quarterly profit rises 17.5% on year to 13.37 bln yuan - Alibaba filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A booth of Ant Group is pictured at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Singapore, November 4, 2022. REUTERS/Anshuman DagaSHANGHAI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - China's Ant Group made net profit of 13.37 billion yuan ($1.85 billion) in the three months to March 31, up 17.5% from a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations from Alibaba Group Holding's (9988.HK) earnings report released Thursday. The e-commerce giant reports profit from Ant one quarter in arrears. Chinese authorities in July announced a fine of 7.12 billion yuan ($984 million) for Ant Group for violating laws concerning consumer protection and corporate governance, ending a years-long regulatory overhaul of the fintech company. ($1 = 7.2097 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Casey Hall Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ant's, Casey Hall, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Ant, Singapore FinTech Festival, REUTERS, Alibaba, HK, Ant Group, Thomson Locations: Singapore, SHANGHAI

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Capri, Tapestry, AppLovin, Disney and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:Capri , Tapestry — Capri soared more than 57%, while Tapestry slid 3.2% in premarket trading. AppLovin — AppLovin shares popped 25.8% in early morning trading after the company posted strong second-quarter results and optimistic third-quarter revenue guidance. The game developer said it expects $780 million to $800 million in revenue for the third quarter, exceeding the $741 million expected by analysts. AppLovin reported earnings of 22 cents per share for the second quarter, while analysts expected 7 cents, according to Refinitiv. The amusement park company reported earnings of 25 cents per share on revenue of $444.0 million.

Persons: Kate Spade, Versace, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, AppLovin, Sonos, Refinitiv, Walt Disney, — Illumina, Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Pia Singh Organizations: Capri Holdings, Capri, Wynn, Wynn Resorts, Walt Disney —, Disney, Six Locations: Alibaba, China

TOKYO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Group (9984.T) reported a surprise loss but saw its Vision Fund unit return to the black for the first time in six quarters, helped by an increased valuation for Arm, the chip designer slated for an initial public offering later this year. The Vision Fund unit booked an investment gain of about 160 billion yen ($1.1 billion) for the April-June. Without the fillip from Arm, the picture was less rosy with the company's Vision Funds reporting a combined loss of 13 billion yen. Overall, SoftBank reported a third consecutive quarterly loss, hit by declines in valuations for major investments such Alibaba Group (9988.HK), Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), and T-Mobile U.S. (TMUS.O). Its net loss came to 477.6 billion yen ($3.3 billion), smaller than its loss of 3.16 trillion yen for the same period a year earlier but a stark contrast to market expectations for a 75 billion yen net profit.

Persons: SoftBank, Anton Bridge, Sam Nussey, Miyoung Kim, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Vision Fund, HK, Deutsche Telekom, Mobile U.S, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 19, 2023. The ratings agency also warned that the sector's credit strength would likely be tested by funding risks and weaker profitability. Big banks Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) eased 0.8% and 1.4%, respectively, in premarket trading, while Bank of New York Mellon and U.S. Bancorp shed 2.3% each. "It also means that the concern that we had in March over those three bank defaults, is not over yet." Remarks by Philadelphia Fed President Harker and Richmond Fed President Barkin will be closely watched for cues about the U.S. central bank's rate path after mixed messages from New York Fed President John Williams and Fed Governor Michelle Bowman on Monday.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Eli Lilly, Moody's, Goldman Sachs, Sam Stovall, Chris Montagu, Thursday's, Harker, Barkin, John Williams, Michelle Bowman, LLY.N, Zachary Kirkhorn, Elon Musk, Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Johann M, Sriraj Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Dow, Nasdaq, Bank of New York Mellon, US Bancorp, Truist, Bank of America, U.S . Bancorp, U.S . Treasury, CFRA, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Citi, Wall Street, Dow e, Philadelphia, Richmond Fed, New York Fed, United Parcel Service, Elon Musk ., Alibaba, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Silicon, Richmond, New, Elon Musk . U.S, Bilibili, Bengaluru

☆ SoftBank seen returning to profit as tech stocks gain
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. SoftBank is set to post net profit of 75 billion yen ($525 million) for April-June, showed the average of four analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv. "Public valuations in tech are trending up again and I would expect private valuations to follow suit," said Bulk. Recent activity by SoftBank includes its creation of a joint venture to build automated warehouses and investment in insurance tech company Tractable. "SoftBank mandated Arm to reinvest all of its profit to enter new markets," New Street Research's Bulk said.

Persons: Issei Kato TOKYO, Masayoshi Son, Rolf Bulk, Refinitiv, Macquarie, Paul Golding, Anton Bridge, Sam Nussey, Christopher Cushing Organizations: SoftBank, REUTERS, Vision Fund, Alibaba, HK, New, Research, Vision, Analysts, Nvidia, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan

☆ Chinese tech giant Alibaba challenges Meta with open-sourced A.I. model launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In April, Alibaba launched its large language model (LLM) called Tongyi Qianwen. Tongyi Qianwen allows AI content generation in English and Chinese and has different model sizes, including seven billion parameters and above. While Alibaba might not earn licensing fees from open-sourcing its technology, the distribution will help the company get more users for its AI model. This comes at a time when China's biggest e-commerce company is looking to boost its cloud computing division through investments in AI, targeting cloud computing as a critical future area for profitability and growth. Offering a good LLM for AI apps development is a potential competitive advantage for cloud computing players.

Persons: Alibaba, Tongyi, Alibaba hasn't Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, U.S, Microsoft Locations: Shanghai, China, Alibaba, Hangzhou

☆ Alibaba unveils open-sourced AI model similar to Meta's Llama 2
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

3D printed clouds and figurines are seen in front of the Alibaba Cloud service logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoHONG KONG, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group's (9988.HK), cloud computing unit released two open-sourced artificial intelligence (AI) models on Thursday in a bid to take on Meta Platform (META.O). The Hangzhou-based company said it will open-source two large language models (LLM), a type of AI model, named Qwen-7B and Qwen-7B-Chat on Thursday in a press release. Each model has 7 billion parameters, which is often used to measure the strength. This comes after Meta unveiled a similar open-sourced model named Llama 2 last month.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, HONG KONG, Josh Ye, Himani Sarkar Organizations: REUTERS, HK, Meta, Thomson Locations: HONG, Hangzhou

☆ Billionaire investor Loeb cuts bearish bets to avoid short squeezes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SALT brings together public policy officials, capital allocators, and hedge fund managers to discuss financial markets. REUTERS/Steve MarcusLONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb has reduced the size of short bets on single named companies to limit the vulnerability of his hedge fund, Third Point, to short squeezes, he said in a letter on Tuesday. "The short-selling environment is much more challenging than it has been historically," said Loeb in the letter. Almost half of Loeb's net long exposure includes companies that will benefit from developments in artificial intelligence, the letter said. Elsewhere at Third Point, Loeb's corporate credit team returned a net 8.7% for the quarter after market instability in the March banking crisis created opportunities for the fund, Loeb said.

Persons: Daniel S, Loeb, Steve Marcus LONDON, Daniel Loeb, Ferguson, Nell Mackenzie, Amanda Cooper Organizations: Third, REUTERS, Pacific Gas and, Microsoft, HK, Offshore Fund, Web Services, Google, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, allocators

☆ Ant Group plans restructuring, paving way for Hong Kong IPO - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 25 (Reuters) - Jack Ma-backed Ant Group (688688.SS) is planning a restructuring that will break off some non-core operations of its China financial-related business, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Once the restructuring is complete and Ant secures the license, it can prepare for a public listing in Hong Kong instead of reviving the dual Shanghai-Hong Kong listing plan that was suspended by Chinese authorities in 2020, Bloomberg said. Ant Group declined to comment on the report, while Alibaba did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Earlier this month, Ant Group announced a surprise share buyback that valued the fintech giant at $78.54 billion, well below the $315 billion touted in the suspended IPO. Alibaba said it would not participate in the buyback but would maintain its shareholding in Ant.

Persons: Jack Ma, Ant, Alibaba, Jyoti Narayan, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Ant, Bloomberg, Alibaba, HK, Ant Group, Thomson Locations: China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bengaluru

☆ China's Alibaba says will not join Ant Group share buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, July 23 (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group (9988.HK) said on Sunday it had decided not to participate in affiliate Ant Group's proposed repurchase of shares, but would maintain its shareholding in the company. Ant Group announced a surprise share buyback of up to 7.6% of its equity interest earlier this month, a day after it was fined $984 million by Beijing for violating laws and regulations. Online retail giant Alibaba, which spun off Ant 12 years ago retains a 33% stake. The fine has fuelled hopes that a years-long regulatory crackdown on the company has ended, which could allow it to secure a financial holding company licence, focus on growth, and eventually, revive its plans for a stock market listing. Reporting by Amy Lv and Dominique Patton; Editing by Jan Harvey and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ant, Amy Lv, Dominique Patton, Jan Harvey, Barbara Lewis Organizations: HK, Ant Group, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing

☆ Alipay and WeChat Pay now accept Visa and Mastercard for all payments in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The move marks a revival of efforts by Alipay and WeChat Pay to accept foreign credit cards after they provided some limited access in late 2019. WeChat Pay is officially known as Weixin Pay in China. Alipay and WeChat Pay are dominant in digital payment services, accounting for a combined 91% market share. In 2019, Alipay and WeChat started allowing the use of foreign credit cards on their apps as Chinese regulators eased restrictions. A week later, an executive from Tencent said at a forum that the company would open wider its WeChat Pay system to international card organizations, such as Visa, starting in July.

Persons: Alipay, WeChat, ” Dennis Chang, Tencent, ”, Chen Qiru Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Mastercard, Ant Group, Visa, Club, Discover, World, Hangzhou, Alibaba, JCB, Greater China, “, Tencent Financial Technology, ”, People’s Bank of Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Tianjin, People’s Bank of China

Hong Kong CNN —China has promised to throw its weight behind private businesses, just days after a slew of economic data showed growth momentum had slumped. The measures include promises to break down barriers to market access for private firms, to “fully implement” a system of fair competition and to strengthen enforcement of anti-monopoly laws. “We believe that the … pivot from the top level is real, but it’s not enough to bring back the animal spirit among private companies,” Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie Group, wrote in a research note. That pledge had marked a major shift from leader Xi Jinping’s years-long effort to rein in private businesses, which were perceived as too powerful and disorderly. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed 0.7% higher, after falling in several previous trading sessions.

Persons: “, Larry Hu, Xi Jinping’s, Premier Li Qiang, Li, ”, Ma, Lei Jun Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Communist Party, State Council, Macquarie Group, ”, Investment, Premier, Alibaba, Tencent, Nasdaq, Dragon Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, New York, Dragon China, Shanghai

☆ Ant Group doesn't have to do a share buyback, says venture capital firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAnt Group doesn't have to do a share buyback, says venture capital firmMitchell Green of Lead Edge Capital, which invested in Alibaba Group affiliate Ant Group, explains why he's "always skeptical of selling into a company buyback."

Persons: Mitchell Green Organizations: Edge, Alibaba, Ant Group

The KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF is up 5.4% since Friday, while back home the CSI Overseas China Internet Index (.CSIH11136) is up nearly 3%. Yet China tech valuations have been gutted in the nearly 3 years since Ant was forced to shelve its initial share offering, and fund managers see plenty of headwinds, apart from just policy scrutiny. "The government has learned that the private sector - particularly the tech sector - is a critical partner in jump-starting growth. The government will continue to exert pressure on key tech companies even as they allow growth to resume," he said. For some sell-side analysts, though, China tech has turned a corner.

Persons: Jack Ma, Jon Withaar, Ant, Wong Kok Hoi, Wong, Kai Kong Chay, Derrick Irwin, Xi Jinping's, Alibaba's ADRs, Morgan Stanley, Min Lan Tan, Vidya Ranganathan, Kim Coghill Organizations: Group, Alibaba, HK, Pictet Asset Management, CSI China, CSI Overseas, CSI Overseas China Internet, Amazon Inc, APS Asset Management, Greater, Manulife Investment Management, UBS Global Wealth Management, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Asia, Hong Kong, Alibaba, CSI Overseas China, Singapore, Greater China, Boston

U.S. consumer prices rose modestly in June and logged their smallest annual increase in more than two years as inflation continued to subside. The much awaited U.S. Labor Department report showed growth in core consumer prices, which excludes food and energy, eased to 4.8% from 5.3% in May on an annual basis. In the 12 months through June, the consumer prices (CPI) advanced 3.0%. The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) rose 1.7% ahead of second-quarter earnings season, with Wall Street lenders expected to report higher profits. The S&P index recorded 62 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 110 new highs and 28 new lows.

Persons: Brian Jacobsen, Russell, Bilibili, Johann M Cherian, Shashwat Chauhan, Shinjini Organizations: Nvidia, VMware, Broadcom, Dow, Nasdaq, Wall, Federal Reserve, . Labor Department, Annex Wealth Management, Dow Jones, Microsoft, Financial Times, Alibaba Group, NYSE, Thomson Locations: U.S, Beijing, Bengaluru

☆ Premier urges Chinese tech giants to support economy as crackdown ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

After listening to suggestions from firms that also included PDD Holdings' (PDD.O) Pinduoduo and JD.com (9618.HK), Li told them authorities would seek to make regulation of platform firms more transparent and predictable. Shares in some U.S.-listed Chinese firms rallied in premarket trade, with Alibaba Group Holding gaining 2.2% and PDD Holdings rising 2.7%. Still Zhou Hao, economist at Guotai Junan International, said Wednesday's meeting was a "positive signal". "A sound development of the platform economy is very significant to investors too. Prudent development of platform firms is important to investors' long-term valuation," he added.

Persons: Li Qiang, Li, ByteDance's Douyin, Zhou Hao, Ella Cao, Brenda Goh, Ellen Zhang, Ethan Wang, Ryan Woo, Barbara Lewis, Mark Potter Organizations: Wednesday, HK, PDD Holdings, Alibaba, Ant, Reuters, Guotai, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, premarket

HONG KONG, July 12 (Reuters) - China's major tech companies have shed more than $1 trillion in value -equivalent to the entire Dutch economy - since the government's regulatory crackdown on the sector began more than two years ago, according to Refinitiv data. Reuters GraphicsTechnology stocks (.HSTECH) in Hong Kong have rallied 4.1% since Monday as investors bank on an easing regulatory environment to boost earnings, but some analysts have sounded a note of caution. "Mega-cap tech companies will allocate increasingly large amounts of capital expenditure towards developing generative AI technologies and products in a hostile external environment, potentially impacting profitability," said Redmond Wong, Saxo Markets strategist in Hong Kong. Steven Leung, UOB Kay Hian sales director, said current valuations would last "until we see more supporting policies from authorities". Reporting by Donny Kwok in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tencent, Redmond Wong, Steven Leung, UOB Kay Hian, Donny Kwok, Scott Murdoch, Kevin Liffey Organizations: People's Bank of China, Tencent Holdings, HK, Alibaba, Baidu Inc, Reuters Graphics Technology, Saxo Markets, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Sydney

☆ Shopify to launch AI assistant for merchants
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 12 (Reuters) - Canadian ecommerce firm Shopify said on Wednesday it would soon launch an artificial intelligence assistant for merchants on its platform, the latest technology company to roll out such a feature. The assistant called "Sidekick" would be embedded as a button on Shopify and answer merchant queries, including details about sales trends, CEO Tobi Lutke illustrated in a video posted on Twitter. Companies such as Alibaba Group Holding , Zoom Video Communications (ZM.O) and Databricks have all launched AI assistants in the last few months following the massive jump in the use of OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT. The assistant can also help entrepreneurs update their stores on Shopify. The feature is "coming soon", the video showed, without specifying the date when it would be rolled out.

Persons: Shopify, Tobi Lutke, Chavi Mehta, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Twitter, Companies, Alibaba, Video Communications, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ China's state planner praises Tencent, Alibaba as attitude towards tech shifts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of Alibaba Group is seen at its office in Beijing, China January 5, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File PhotoBEIJING, July 12 (Reuters) - China's state planner on Wednesday praised Tencent (0700.HK) and Alibaba (9988.HK) in a statement detailing a study it had done on platform firms, in the latest sign authorities are warming up to the technology sector after a nearly three-year crackdown. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said platform companies had become key contributors to areas of tech innovation China was prioritising, such as semiconductors and autonomous driving. The commission's comments come after authorities signalled last week that a crackdown that began in late 2020 on the country's technology sector had ended with fines on Ant Group and Tencent. During the campaign, which wiped billions of dollars off the market value of China's top technology firms, regulators repeatedly criticised and punished these companies for violations ranging from failing to protect customer privacy to monopolistic behaviour.

Persons: Thomas Peter, Tencent, Tencent's, Xi Jinping, Qiaoyi Li, Brenda Goh, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, HK, National Development, Reform Commission, Ant, Index, Baidu, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING, Hong Kong

☆ Apple opens store on China's WeChat platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A man holds an iPhone 14 as Apple Inc's new models go on sale at an Apple store in Beijing, China, September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File PhotoBEIJING, July 11 (Reuters) - Tencent's (0700.HK) WeChat said on Tuesday that iPhone maker Apple (AAPL.O) had opened a store on its social media platform, marking an expansion of the U.S. firm's retail channels in the world's second largest economy. The announcement by WeChat, China's dominant messaging app which also provides e-commerce, livestreaming and payment services, said users would be able to buy Apple products including iPhones, iPads and Macs from the store. The move by Apple comes as Chinese consumers increasingly turn to social media platforms such as WeChat and ByteDance's Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, to shop. China's smartphone sales in the first quarter fell 5% year on year, marking the lowest first-quarter sales figure for the country since 2014, according to data from Counterpoint Research.

Persons: Thomas Peter, WeChat, Tencent, ByteDance's Douyin, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh, Jacqueline Wong, Jamie Freed Organizations: Apple, REUTERS, HK, Counterpoint Research, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING

HONG KONG, July 10 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group (9988.HK) and Tencent (0700.HK) shares rose in Hong Kong on Monday after China's $984 million fine against the Jack Ma-founded Ant Group appeared to signal the end of a regulatory crackdown on the country's technology sector. Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares were up nearly 4% by 0230 GMT on Monday, outpacing a 1.3% gain for the broader market (.HSI), while Tencent's shares were up 1%. ANT GROUP VALUATION SLASHEDAlibaba, which spun off Ant 11 years ago and has a 33% stake, said on Sunday it was considering whether to participate in the buyback. Alibaba's U.S.-listed shares rose 8% on Friday after the penalty, one of the largest-ever fines for an internet company in China, was delivered. ($1 = 7.2310 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jack Ma, Ant, Dickie Wong, Oshadhi Kumarasiri, Scott Murdoch, Donny Kwok, Anne Marie Roantree, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Jamie Freed Organizations: Alibaba, HK, Ant, People's Bank of China, Kingston Securities, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Beijing, Alibaba's U.S, China, Sydney

☆ What people are saying about Ant Group's $984 mln fine and share buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

July 10 (Reuters) - China's Ant Group has announced a surprise share buyback that values the fintech giant at $78.5 billion, well below the $315 billion touted in an abandoned IPO in 2020, in a move that may let some investors exit. "And second, of course, we're talking about the share buyback plan. DICKIE WONG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT KINGSTON SECURITIES IN HONG KONG:"Their share prices have strongly rebound today mainly driven by the expectation that regulatory pressure from mainland government will ease. Ant Group is on the right track to achieve their final target of an IPO." According to the company, the reason for the buyback is providing liquidity to existing investors and attracting and retaining talented individuals through employee incentives.

Persons: GARY NG, KENNY NG, DICKIE WONG, SUMEET SINGH, Xie Yu, Yantoultra, Scott Murdoch, Anne Marie Roantree, Jamie Freed Organizations: Alibaba, HK, ASIA PACIFIC, CHINA, HONG, People's Bank of, Ant Group, KINGSTON, SINGAPORE WHO, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, People's Bank of China, SINGAPORE, COLOMBO, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney

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