(Yicai Global) July 24 -- Shares of Alibaba Group Holding fell in Hong Kong after the Chinese e-commerce giant said it will not take part in the CNY43.1 billion (USD6 billion) share repurchase program of financial technology affiliate Ant Group.

After plunging by as much as 2.8 percent in the afternoon, Alibaba [HKG: 9988] closed down 1.9 percent at HKD89.55 (USD11.46) a share. Its New York-listed stock [NYSE: BABA] closed up 0.3 percent at USD92.17 on July 21.

“Given that Ant continues to be an important strategic partner to Alibaba’s various businesses, Alibaba has decided that it will not sell any shares to Ant under the proposed share repurchase, so as to maintain its shareholding in Ant,” Hangzhou-based Alibaba said in a filing yesterday.

Ant said on July 8 that it planned to buy back as much as 7.6 percent of its equity from shareholders at a price that values the firm at about CNY576.1 billion (USD78.5 billion). The repurchased shares would supplement Ant’s equity incentive program and free up liquidity for investors, it added.

Alibaba, which owns 33 percent of Ant, said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange the following day that it was considering whether or not to participate in the repurchase of shares. Alibaba spun off Ant 11 years ago.

Regulators, including the People’s Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, fined Ant and its units on July 7 for violating laws and regulations on corporate governance, financial consumer protection, anti-money laundering obligations, and others. The fine ends a years-long regulatory crackdown on China’s internet finance sector.

Editor: Futura Costaglione