Alibaba Group said on Sunday it is proposing a placement of new shares in Hong Kong, in a deal valued at about HK$80 billion (US$10.2 billion), as the Chinese mainland technology giant steps up investment in artificial intelligence.
The company said the placement would be the largest primary follow-on offering ever by a Hong Kong–listed company and the biggest Regulation S equity offering on record. Alibaba added that the transaction would also rank as the world’s third-largest primary follow-on share sale this year, behind offerings by Alphabet and Intel.
Alibaba said it plans to use 100 percent of the net proceeds to invest in its full-stack AI capabilities, with a focus on expanding and upgrading AI infrastructure.
The announcement comes as major technology companies worldwide accelerate capital spending to secure computing capacity and build out AI platforms amid intensifying competition in the sector.
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