Alibaba raises US$10bil for AI in record Hong Kong share sale

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has raised US$10.2 billion in Hong Kong's biggest secondary share sale, highlighting its ambition to lead in global artificial intelligence (AI). The online retail giant sold 710 million shares at HK$112.7 each, which was a 3.6% discount from the closing price of its American depositary receipts and 8.4% below the Hong Kong close.

This placement is the largest follow-on offering by a company in Hong Kong's history and the city's biggest share sale since Prosus NV sold US$14.7 billion in shares of Tencent Holdings Ltd in 2021.

Alibaba's capital-raising underscores its position as one of the biggest spenders on AI among Chinese rivals. The company has pledged to spend over ¥380 billion over three years on chips, data centers, and large-language model development. Its flagship Qwen offering is now the world's most popular model family. However, this concentrated effort to challenge AI leaders Anthropic PBC and OpenAI is eroding margins for Alibaba, while anemic domestic consumption is hampering its core online retail business.

The move has drawn criticism from investor Michael Burry, the man behind The Big Short. Burry expressed that he "cannot bless" Alibaba's new share issuance, stating that its return on invested capital (ROIC) will continue to fall. Burry had planned to sell most of his Alibaba position and move it to JD.com Inc, but now he has no intention of doing so. The deal requires a 90-day lockup period, with China International Capital Corp, HSBC Holdings Plc, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Group AG arranging the transaction.