Alibaba shares in Hong Kong rose amid focus on AI

Shares of Alibaba (HK:9988) in Hong Kong rose sharply on Tuesday amid growing optimism about the company's prospects in artificial intelligence (AI). According to a Financial Times report, Alibaba, led by CEO Eddie Woo, is actively refocusing on AI, gauging the performance of its divisions by 2025 on their ability to leverage AI for growth.

Alibaba shares rose 4.9% to HK$142.10, supporting a 1.8% rise in the Hang Seng Index. The company is also benefiting from Beijing's stimulus measures to boost private spending, which has already been reflected in its quarterly results.

Alibaba, which is one of the leaders in AI in China, has been actively integrating AI technology into both consumer products and internal processes, especially in its key Taobao and Tmall platforms. The company recently unveiled new versions of its Qwen AI model.

Alibaba shares are up nearly 75% since the beginning of the year, and Tuesday's gains are also attributed to the success of Chinese rival Baidu, which this week unveiled new models of its Ernie AI.