(Yicai) Jan. 3 -- Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding said it had repurchased 119 million ordinary shares, equal to 15 million American depositary shares, for USD1.3 billion over the last three months.

The moves were conducted in the US market under Alibaba's share repurchase program, the Hangzhou-based firm announced yesterday. The company had spent USD9.9 billion buying back stock in the six months ended Sept. 30.

As of the end of last year, Alibaba still had USD20.7 billion remaining under its board-authorized share repurchase program running through March 2027.

Alibaba spent USD12.5 billion repurchasing shares in the fiscal year 2024, which ended March 31, maintaining its position as the top China concept stock, it announced previously.

Alibaba has consistently divested non-core assets recently, signaling a clearer strategic focus on developing its core e-commerce and cloud plus artificial intelligence businesses.

On Jan. 1, Alibaba announced it had sold Sun Art Retail Group for HKD13.1 billion (USD1.7 billion) following the sale of Intime Department Store for CNY7.4 billion (USD1 billion) last month.

Shares of Alibaba [HKG: 9988] closed 1.6 percent higher at HKD82.60 (USD10.62) apiece in Hong Kong today. Its New York-listed stock [NASDAQ: BABA] ended up 0.2 percent at USD84.95 yesterday.

Editor: Martin Kadiev