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Alibaba’s breakup lifts hopes China’s regulatory winter is thawing

Alibaba said on Tuesday it was planning to split
A man walks past a logo of Alibaba Group at its office building in Beijing, China August 9, 2021. REUTERS
A man walks past a logo of Alibaba Group at its office building in Beijing, China August 9, 2021. REUTERS

Investors cheered a major revamp of Alibaba Group as a sign Beijing’s crackdown on the corporate sector was nearing an end, sending shares of the Jack Ma-founded company and its peers soaring on Wednesday.

Alibaba said on Tuesday it was planning to split into six units and explore fundraisings or listings for most of them, in the biggest restructuring of the technology conglomerate in its 24-year history.

The group’s Hong Kong-listed shares jumped as much as 16.3%, tracking a 14.3% rally in its US-listed shares overnight, leading the benchmark Hang Seng Index and broader markets in the region higher.

The move represented a light at the end of the tunnel for many investors who had seen a wave of regulatory blitzes as a major cloud hanging over China’s private sector.

“We think this is likely a sign that we are moving closer to the end of the regulatory scrutiny on BABA and we would expect that the company moves back into the good graces of the regulators and policy makers after this,” said Jon Withaar, head of Asia special situations at Pictet Asset Management.

The company said it will hold a conference call on Thursday to discuss its plan to split.

China’s wide regulatory crackdown over the last couple of years on its marquee domestic companies, mainly from the internet, private education and property sectors, had wiped off billions in market values and weighed on investor sentiment.

Alibaba said on Tuesday it would split into six units - Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics Group, Global Digital Commerce Group and Digital Media and Entertainment Group.

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