Alibaba shares slid as much as 9.4% in Tuesday morning trading in Hong Kong following a report by CCTV that an individual surnamed Ma, assumed to be cofounder Jack Ma, had been detained.
Alibaba shares plunged as much as 9.4% in Tuesday morning trading in Hong Kong following a report by CCTV that an individual surnamed Ma, which many investors feared to be cofounder Jack Ma, had been detained. The plunge erased $26 billion in market capitalization from the Chinese e-commerce giant before the state broadcaster issued a correction, and shares made a quick recovery to finish the day with a loss of 1.76%. CCTV’s report stated that a person surnamed Ma was taken in for “criminal coercive measures” in the eastern city of Hangzhou, where Alibaba is headquartered. The person was targeted by Hangzhou police last week, according to the report, under charges of inciting subversion of state power through the internet and conducting other “activities that endangered national security,” pending an ongoing investigation.
