China companies increase US share buybacks as prices slump

New York

THE SELLOFF that has pushed an index of US-traded Chinese stocks down more than 30 per cent since June has some of the biggest companies seeking to buy back record numbers of shares.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the online retailer that went public with a record US$25 billion initial public offering a year ago, said last month it plans to repurchase as much as US$4 billion of stock over two years. JD.com Inc has authorised US$1 billion for the purpose. Baidu Inc's US$1 billion share-buyback plan announced in July was its biggest ever. NetEase Inc, an online game operator, increased its planned repurchases five times to US$500 million this month.