Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) co-founder Jack Ma has reduced his stake in the Chinese e-commerce company to 4.8% from 6.4%, selling $9.6 billion worth of stock, according to the firm’s annual filing.
The divestment came after Ma retired as Alibaba’s Executive Chairman last September in order to focus on philanthropy. Alibaba did not disclose the average selling price of Ma’s divestment. The company’s share price has risen nearly 40% since Ma reported his 6.4% holding in the company a year ago.
The stock’s performance has been helped by earnings growth as more people shop online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alibaba Executive Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai also reduced his stake in the company over the same period, from 2.3% to 1.6%, selling $4.1 billion worth of shares. Both Ma and Tsai have been steadily less involved in Alibaba’s operations since Daniel Zhang was announced as Ma’s successor last September.
An April 2019 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stated that Ma plans to sell up to 21 million shares within one year to support his philanthropic efforts. So far this year, Ma has donated millions of units of personal protective equipment to hospitals worldwide to help fight the spread of COVID-19.
