Alibaba launches $10B Hong Kong share placement to fund AI spending

Alibaba launched an HK$80 billion ($10.2 billion) Hong Kong share placement on Sunday to finance AI-related development, which it says would be the largest-ever primary follow-on offering by a Hong Kong-listed company. The deal involves selling 710 million ordinary shares at HK$112.70 each, a 3.6% discount to the latest close, and would rank as the world’s third-largest primary follow-on sale this year, behind offerings from Alphabet and Intel. Alibaba plans to use 100% of net proceeds to invest in its “full stack” AI capabilities spanning chips, infrastructure, and model development and deployment, though it provided no breakdown by category. The company reported ramped AI capex, with net profit down 75% year-on-year.