The Chinese government's intervention in the local tech giant has widened after it reportedly acquired 'golden shares' from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
According to Qichacha's public business registration records, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) branch of Zhejiang Media Group has taken a 1% stake in Alibaba's Youku Film and Television unit in September 2022.
In addition, it has also appointed Jin Jun, the general manager of one of its subsidiaries to the board of directors of the Alibaba unit.
Gold shares, usually equivalent to about 1% of the firm's stake, are bought by funds or government-backed companies that get board representation or veto rights over key business decisions.
Meanwhile, separate records show WangTouSuiCeng, an entity under the China Internet Investment Fund (CIIF) set up by CAC, grabbed a 1% stake in Alibaba's research and experimentation-focused unit Guangzhou Lujio.
The goal of the investment is said to be to tighten government control over content at the streaming video units of e-commerce giants Youku and UCWeb.
In addition to that, the government is also in talks to take gold shares in gaming giant Tencent Holdings which would involve holding one of the group's main subsidiaries.
Following this report, shares of Tencet and Alibaba experienced a decline where they lost more than 2% and 1.6% respectively.
