Alibaba ADRs appeared to be extending their recent gains on Wednesday, following rumours that founder Jack Ma had travelled abroad for the first time in a year.
The reports were interpreted as an indication that Ma's regulatory issues, which had caused a steep decline in Alibaba's stock in recent months, had been resolved.
The ADRs had closed 6.1 % higher on Tuesday and were up 2.2 % in premarket trading today. According to Alibaba's parent company, Ma is on a study tour for agriculture and technology, according to the South China Morning Post.
Last October, the millionaire seemed to vanish after making statements that appeared to disparage Chinese regulators. Since then, his whereabouts have been the subject of intense speculation.
Ma's fintech company Ant Group had to cancel its initial public offering just a day before it was set to begin, a result that many blamed on government pressure following his statements.
There was also some good news from the operational side, which helped to support up the stock. The business unveiled a new processor for Cloud servers on Tuesday. The chips will be kept by the corporation for its own purposes solely. To boost its Cloud business, the e-commerce behemoth wants to establish new data centres in South Korea and Thailand next year.
