View of Alibaba's booth at the recent World AI Conference held in Shanghai. AP
Alibaba Group is seeking to raise about HK$80 billion ($10.2 billion) through a new share placement in Hong Kong, which, if completed, would become the world's third-largest primary follow-on offering this year, behind only those placed by Alphabet and Intel.
The placement, announced on Sunday, would mark Alibaba's first new share sale since its Hong Kong listing in 2019. More striking is where every dollar raised is headed — the company plans to use 100 percent of its net proceeds to strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities, including expanding and upgrading AI infrastructure.
Several sources close to the matter told China Daily that the offering was oversubscribed within an hour of its launch. One source close to the company disclosed that sovereign wealth funds and some long-term institutional investors showed keen interest.
Right after the move, Alibaba's Chairman Cai Chongxin and CEO Wu Yongming bought a combined about HK$120 million of Alibaba shares.
