China’s Alibaba says will not join Ant Group proposed share buyback

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Alibaba Group said on Sunday it had decided not to participate in a proposed share buyback by Ant Group but would retain its stake in the company.

Ant Group announced a surprise share buyback of up to 7.6% of its stake earlier this month, a day after Beijing was fined $984 million for violating laws and regulations.

Online retail giant Alibaba, which split from Ant 12 years ago, retains a 33% stake.

The fine fueled hopes that a years-long regulatory crackdown on the company would be over, which could allow it to obtain a financial holding company license, focus on growth and, eventually, revive its plans to list on the stock market.

(Reporting by Amy LV and Dominic Patton; Editing by Jan Harvey and Barbara Lewis)