Alibaba shares surge as China weighs Nvidia H200 imports
Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd rose sharply on optimism that the technology giant could benefit if Nvidia Corp’s H200 chips become available in China.
Alibaba’s stock climbed as much as 4.8% in Hong Kong, marking its biggest intraday gain since Nov. 24, following reports that China may approve some imports of the H200 chips as early as this quarter, News.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.
Other Chinese artificial intelligence-related companies also advanced, with Kuaishou Technology and JD.com Inc each gaining more than 4%.
The rally reflects expectations that Chinese authorities could allow domestic companies to use the H200 chips, a development that would be positive for major players such as Alibaba, according to Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at Union Bancaire Privée.
Access to these AI semiconductors would help Chinese firms upgrade and run their models as they seek to compete with the likes of OpenAI and other US rivals. The H200 is an older-generation chip that the Trump administration has said can be exported to China. The US government restricts sales of more advanced processors on national security grounds.
Alibaba has been the biggest spender among Chinese firms to power AI-related businesses, and a secure chip supply is expected to boost its cloud segment. That bodes well for the stock, which has declined more than 20% from a peak in early October amid concerns over its core e-commerce earnings and Beijing’s regulations on live-streaming businesses.
The tech giant has told Nvidia in private that it is interested in ordering more than 200,000 units of the H200, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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