US judge narrows shareholder lawsuit against Alibaba

A US judge said Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the Chinese e-commerce giant founded by Jack Ma, must face claims it defrauded shareholders about its alleged monopolistic practices, but dismissed claims over a shelved initial public offering for its Ant Group affiliate.

In a 31-page decision on Wednesday, US District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan also dismissed all claims against the billionaire Ma, including for insider trading.

Shareholders accused Alibaba of concealing regulatory concerns about an IPO for Ant, which operated the Alipay mobile payment platform and in which Alibaba had a 33% stake, before China blocked the potential $37 billion offering in 2020.