This means the Chinese e-commerce giant is no longer a substantial shareholder of the national postal service provider
[SINGAPORE] Alibaba Investment, a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, sold off 151.3 million shares in Singapore Post (SingPost) for S$64.4 million on Tuesday (Sep 9).
The transaction lowers its stake in the national postal service provider to 4.61 per cent, from 11.33 per cent, and trims its shareholding to 103.9 million shares. It previously held 255.1 million shares, according to a bourse filing.
By falling below the 5 per cent ownership threshold, both Alibaba Investment and Alibaba Group are no longer considered substantial shareholders of SingPost.
The shares were sold at about S$0.426 apiece, 5.3 per cent lower than the closing price of S$0.45 on Tuesday – which was down S$0.005 or 1.1 per cent from the previous day.
Alibaba Group first invested in SingPost in 2014, buying a roughly 10.4 per cent stake for S$312.5 million at S$1.42 per share.
The relationship deepened in 2016, when the Singapore Exchange gave Alibaba Group the go-ahead to up its stake in SingPost, and, in January the following year, Alibaba Investment was issued 107.6 million new shares at a price of S$1.74 for each.
This second investment saw the group’s stake in SingPost jump to 14.4 per cent.
The strategy, however, has since shifted towards divestment.
A previous sale in 2024 saw Alibaba dump S$33 million of its SingPost shares, reducing its shareholding from 14.56 per cent.
