Adani Wilmar acquires rice brand Kohinoor from McCormick Switzerland

BEIJING: Alibaba shares fell as much as 9 percent on Tuesday, after a state media report that Chinese authorities had taken action against an individual surnamed Ma, but recouped losses after the report was revised, to make clear it was not the company’s founder.

State broadcaster CCTV first reported that authorities in the city of Hangzhou, Alibaba’s headquarters, had taken action against an individual surnamed Ma, whose name consisted of two Chinese characters, suspected of using the Internet to engage in activities endangering national security.

The broadcaster later revised the article, to make clear that the individual in question had a three-character name, indicating that it was not billionaire Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

A spokesperson for Alibaba did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the media report.

Alibaba stock dropped as much as 9.4 percent in early trading in Hong Kong, in a firmer broader market. It later pared most of its losses, and was trading down 1.1 percent by 0310 GMT.

Covestro sees China lockdown blow in Q2

German chemicals maker Covestro expects COVID-19 lockdowns in China to significantly affect business in the second quarter, its finance chief said on Tuesday, while its 2022 energy costs could also exceed earlier estimates.

Chief Financial Officer Thomas Toepfer told Reuters the lockdown in Shanghai, which led the company to cut its full-year earnings outlook on Monday, would have bigger and longer effects on the group than originally thought.

Toepfer said Covestro’s energy costs could more than double this year to between 1.7 billion and 2.0 billion euros ($1.8-$2.1 billion), against its previous 1.5 billion euro estimate. The group’s energy costs already increased by 67 percent in 2021.

“The logistics problems and the problems of the other suppliers have worsened so much that ultimately sales drop quite sharply,” Toepfer added on the second-quarter performance.

(With input from Reuters)