Alibaba HK shares rally amid increased focus on AI

Investing.com-- Alibaba’s (NYSE:BABA) Hong Kong shares rose sharply on Tuesday amid increasing optimism over the e-commerce giant’s AI prospects, with a report suggesting that it had shifted internal priorities further towards the technology. 

Alibaba was also caught up in a wave of buying into Chinese shares, with the company expected to benefit greatly from increased stimulus measures from Beijing, particularly those aimed at boosting private spending. Alibaba’s quarterly results showed the company was already benefiting from a recovery in its biggest market. 

Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares (HK:9988) jumped 4.9% to HK$142.10 by the midday break, underpinning a 1.8% rise in the Hang Seng index. 

A report from the Financial Times said that Alibaba, under CEO Eddie Wu, was pivoting heavily into AI. Wu reportedly told all divisions of the company that their 2025 performance will be evaluated largely on how they can leverage AI to spur growth.

In addition to its customer-end AI products, Alibaba is also looking at how AI can be applied to improve internal processes, the FT report said, especially in its core ecommerce units Taobao and Tmall. 

The company- which recently released new versions of its Qwen AI model- is seen as a leader in China’s AI industry, and is also among the country’s biggest spenders on the technology. 

Alibaba has benefited greatly from increased interest in China’s AI capabilities, especially after the release of DeepSeek earlier this year. The company’s HK shares surged nearly 75% in value so far in 2025, and have shown little sign of slowing.