Lacklustre earnings, buyback plans hurting China's Internet bonds

Hong Kong

CHINA'S Internet bonds are lagging behind as disappointing earnings and plans for buybacks to shore up slumping shares fuel concern finances will deteriorate.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China's largest e-commerce company, announced a US$4 billion share repurchase last week, while Baidu Inc, its most-popular search engine, unveiled a US$1 billion plan in July. Their bonds have contributed to a 0.4 per cent loss on technology notes this quarter, the worst sector in a Bank of America Merrill Lynch investment-grade dollar note index for China that gained 0.4 per cent.