Jack Ma backs off on plans to sell Alibaba shares after stock plunge.

According to two regulatory filings from last Thursday, Ma had been looking to sell 10 million shares worth nearly $871 million.

According to a Wednesday post on Alibaba’s internal forum, Chief People Officer Jane Jiang Fang, the billionaire has not sold “a single share” because the company’s stock price has fallen below his expectations.

Initial plans called for the sales to take place this Tuesday through JC Properties and JSP Investment, two entities linked to Ma and his foundation.

Announcing the intended sales came the same day Alibaba announced it would drop plans to spin off its cloud computing division due to uncertainties caused by US controls on chip exports to China.

On Thursday, Alibaba’s stock plunged 9% in New York and nearly 10% in Hong Kong, wiping out about $20 billion from the company’s value.

Jack Ma backs off on plans to sell Alibaba shares fall by more than 10%.

The fact that both pieces of news came at the same time was just a coincidence, Jiang said.

It was rumored that Ma had lost confidence in the company after hearing the news of the sale, but Jiang urged employees to disregard those rumors. According to the executive, the transactions are part of a long-term plan, which will allow Ma’s office to invest in agricultural technology and welfare projects abroad as well as in China.

According to her, Ma doesn’t plan to sell his Hangzhou-based company’s stock because it is significantly below Alibaba’s actual value.

Jack Ma is very positive about the company’s prospects, despite plans for “a partial sell-down.”

Ma founded Alibaba in 1999. He stepped down as chairman of the company in 2019, about a year before landing in hot water with Chinese authorities.