Alibaba tumbles 9% on record HK$79.7B share placement

Alibaba Group (9988.HK) tumbled more than 9% during regular trading to HK$111.30, with turnover exceeding HK$8.5 billion.

The decline followed the company's announcement on Aug. 23 of a 710 million-share placement to non-U.S. investors at HK$112.70 per share, an 8.4% discount to the prior close of HK$123. The deal raises approximately HK$79.7 billion (~US$10.2 billion) in net proceeds — Alibaba's first equity placement since its 2019 Hong Kong listing and the largest-ever share placement in Hong Kong market history. Proceeds will be allocated entirely to full-stack AI capability development and AI infrastructure expansion.

Market sentiment was further pressured by disclosure that prominent investor Michael Burry has fully exited his Alibaba position in favor of JD.com, citing elevated valuations that he argues cannot support large-scale capital raises. The record-sized placement also sparked concerns that other major technology names may follow with similar offerings, dragging peers including Tencent and Meituan lower.