Alibaba increases buyback program to $25 billion

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced late Monday that it was upsizing its share-buyback program. The Chinese e-commerce giant is now authorized to repurchase up to $25 billion in shares, whereas the prior authorization was for $15 billion. The program will be effective for a two-year period that ends in March 2024. Alibaba disclosed that it bought back about $9.2 billion in American depositary shares as of March 18 through its previously announced repurchase program. The upsized program represents “a sign of confidence about the company’s continued growth in the future,” Alibaba said in a press release. Further, the company announced that Weijian Shan, the executive chairman of investment-management group PAG, has been appointed an independent director to the company’s board of directors. The appointment will be effective March 31, at which time Börje Ekholm, the chief executive of the Ericsson Group, will retire from Alibaba’s board after having served on it since June 2015. Shares of Alibaba have fallen about 16% over the past three months.

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