Shares of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com plunged 10% on Wednesday in Hong Kong after U.S. retailer Walmart confirmed it will sell its stake in the Chinese firm.
Walmart told CNBC the decision to sell its stake will allow the company to “focus on our strong China operations for Walmart China and Sam’s Club, and deploy capital towards other priorities.”
The company said “JD has been a valued partner to us over the past 8 years, and we are committed to a continued commercial relationship with them.”
The stock was the largest loser on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index. The U.S.-listed shares fell 9.5% in after-hours trading.
Walmart entered into a strategic alliance with the Chinese company in June 2016, with the U.S. retailer taking a 5% stake in JD.com back then.
In its 2023 annual report, JD.com reported that Walmart owns 9.4% of ordinary shares in the company as of March 31, holding just over 289 million shares.
JD.com did not have a comment when contacted by CNBC.
— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.