Investment giant Soros buys shares in Alibaba.com

The Hong Kong-listed arm of China's e-commerce firm Alibaba said Friday that billionaire investor George Soros had bought was now among its top three largest shareholders.

The legendary financier who founded Soros Fund Management bought shares in Alibaba.com in the third quarter of last year after visiting the company, its chief executive David Wei told reporters in Shenzhen.

But Wei declined to say how large Soros' stake in the company was, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Alibaba.com also said it is considering listing its shares in mainland China.

Hungarian-born Soros is famous for speculating against the British pound in 1992 as well as for his philanthropy.

The Hong Kong-listed company reported Thursday its first-quarter net profit jumped 34 percent from a year earlier to 330 million yuan (48.34 million US) as the number of its paying members grew and revenue rose.

(c) 2010 AFP