Ant Group to hold new round of dividend payments to shareholders amid AI, overseas push

This would mark the third round of dividend payments by Ant Group, following two previous rounds in December and March 2022

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Ant Group said it is committed to “increasing its investment in technologies such as artificial intelligence” and “accelerating the company’s global growth”. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:33pm, 10 Sep 2024Updated: 8:49pm, 10 Sep 2024

Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, will kick off a new round of dividend payments to all eligible shareholders and employees who hold equity incentives, according to reports this week by several state-owned Chinese media.

The company’s new dividend distribution plan, which was approved during a recently convened shareholders meeting, was “formulated after considering factors such as generating reasonable returns for shareholders, ensuring sustainable business operations and continuous investment for future growth”, an Ant Group representative said on Tuesday.

It would mark the third round of dividend payments by Ant Group, following two previous rounds in December and March 2022. The Chinese fintech giant conducted a share buy-back programme last year. Alibaba also owns the South China Morning Post.

The plan’s announcement comes just months after Ant Group restructured its operations into several independently-run business units, as well as promoted chief financial officer Cyril Han Xinyi to president.

Ant Group’s logo seen at the company’s headquarters in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province. Photo: Shutterstock

Ant Group, however, has not revealed the total amount involved in the latest dividend distribution plan. In 2022, Ant Group’s dividend payments to Alibaba, which owns 33 per cent of the tech unicorn, totalled 12.5 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion), according to the e-commerce titan’s past financial disclosures.