Wednesday’s gains also saw Alibaba’s HK shares rebound from a 15-month low.

A New York Times report showed that Ma had acquired Hong Kong shares worth $50 million in the fourth quarter, while Tsai had bought about $151 million U.S. shares through his Blue Pool Management entity.

Ma had stepped down as executive chairman in 2019, but still held a substantial stake in Alibaba. Tsai is the current chairman of the e-commerce firm, after taking over the role from Daniel Zhang in 2023.

Ma had relinquished his control in Alibaba’s fintech unit Ant Group in 2023, following a botched attempt at listing the firm. He had also largely dropped out of the public spotlight since 2020, amid a widening regulatory crackdown against China’s biggest technology firms.

The firm had also recently flagged increased difficulty in its artificial intelligence ambitions, due to a lack of access to the latest semiconductor technology following U.S. trade sanctions against China.

Still, some analysts have argued that Alibaba’s current, low valuations make the stock ripe for bargain-buying, citing a strong base and the potential to benefit greatly from a Chinese economic recovery.

Hong Kong tech cheered by Alibaba gains

Major Hong Kong technology stocks were nursing steep losses over the past year, as a Chinese post-COVID economic recovery largely failed to materialize.

Broader sentiment towards Chinese markets was also supported by a Bloomberg report that the Chinese government was preparing a massive 2 trillion yuan ($278 billion) support package for local stocks.