Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the world’s largest e-commerce company, announced on Tuesday that it has increased its share buyback programme to $25 billion from $15 billion for the second time in a year.
Alibaba reported that as of March 18, it has repurchased $9.2 billion of its US-listed shares as part of its programme, which was supposed to extend until the end of the year.
In December 2020, the company’s stock plummeted after a $10 billion repurchase failed to allay fears of a governmental crackdown on co-founder Jack Ma’s e-commerce and finance business.
Last August, Alibaba increased its buyback to $15 billion.
Alibaba stated in a statement on Tuesday that the current programme will last for two years, ending in March 2024.
“The upsized share buyback underscores our confidence in Alibaba’s long-term, sustainable growth potential and value creation,” said Toby Xu, Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Alibaba Group.
“Alibaba’s stock price does not fairly reflect the company’s value given our robust financial health and expansion plans,” added Xu.
Weijian Shan, the executive chairman of investment firm PAG, was appointed as an independent director to Alibaba’s board, and Borje Ekholm, the CEO of Ericsson, announced his retirement from the board on March 31.
