Alibaba unit slashes its 11.3% SingPost stake by more than half

Alibaba Investment has sold over 151 million Singapore Post shares in a move that slashes its stake in the Singapore postal services provider by more than half.

- Kang Wan Chern

The subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba sold 151.3 million shares in SingPost for $64.4 million, or 42.6 cents apiece, in an off-market deal, according to an exchange filing after the market closed on Sept 9.

Shares of SingPost fell after the news, with the stock down 1.1 per cent or 0.5 cent to 44.5 cents as at the midday trading break on Sept 10. The shares had touched a three-year high of 65.5 cents in July.

The sale reduces Alibaba's stake in SingPost to 4.6 per cent from 11.3 per cent, meaning Alibaba is no longer a substantial shareholder.

Alibaba had been SingPost's second-largest shareholder with 255.1 million shares before the sale, according to the Singapore company's latest annual report.