Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Jack Ma said the spinoff of the Alipay online payment business is “lawful” and “transparent,” after biggest shareholder Yahoo! Inc. claimed it wasn’t consulted on the transfer.
“We are always committed to ensure our operations are 100 percent lawful,” Ma said today in Hong Kong. “The matter of Alipay is not settled yet” amid ongoing negotiations with Yahoo and Softbank Corp. (9984), Alibaba’s second-biggest shareholder, on the post-transfer commercial arrangements, Ma said.
Yahoo, owner of the biggest U.S. Web portal, this week said it wasn’t informed until March 31 about an August 2010 transfer of Alipay equity to a vehicle outside of Alibaba.
Ma said today Alibaba’s board discussed for three years the need to comply with restrictions on foreign ownership of payment services in China, which prompted the reorganization of Alipay, the nation’s biggest online payment service.
via Alibaba Says Alipay Spinoff ‘Lawful’ After Yahoo’s Failed-Disclosure Claim – Bloomberg.
