Jack Ma, founder of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is weighing whether to sell 10 million shares in the company through his family’s trust and re-invest the proceeds in agriculture and public welfare projects. Ma disclosed his potential transaction in a regulatory filing on the same day that Alibaba reported its Q3 results on Nov. 16. The simultaneous news shook some investors in the group, who reportedly expressed worry that Ma’s confidence in the business he founded is waning.
Ma’s family office has refuted the claim to the South China Morning Post, adding that he remains “very positive” about Alibaba and that the trust has not sold a single share.
Helped by a strategic reorganization, Alibaba reported a 34 percent increase in operating income to 33.6 billion yuan renminbi (€4.31b) for the three months ended Sep. 30. Adjusted Ebitda rose by 18 percent to RMB 42.8 billion (€5.5b) and net income attributable to shareholders was RMB 27.7 billion (€3.6b). Total revenues expanded 9 percent year-over-year to RMB 224.8 billion (€28.9b).
The group says its strategy for its Taobao and Tmall apps is to make them one-stop destinations for consumption and daily life needs, serving the largest number of users. To that end, Alibaba is increasing content, enhancing the array of price-competitive products by onboarding additional merchants, and introducing artificial intelligence (AI) applications and tools to improve the user experience and seller efficiency. In Q3, while the number of transacting buyers and order volume increased by an unspecified percentage, the group saw its number of 88VIP members rise by double-digits to surpass the 30-million mark.
