Ryan Cohen, the Chairman of GameStop and a billionaire investor, has reportedly increased his personal investment in the Chinese e-commerce behemoth, Alibaba. Cohen now owns approximately 7 million shares in Alibaba, roughly valued at $1 billion, as per a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The massive investment in Alibaba is a strategic move by Cohen, indicating his optimism for China’s long-term economic growth. However, Cohen was not available for comment when CNBC attempted to reach him.

Alibaba recently reported a significant increase in profits for the December quarter, mainly due to the robust performance of its Cloud Intelligence unit and the e-commerce sector. Following this news, Alibaba’s shares rose by 8.1% on Thursday.

In 2023, Cohen had suggested that Alibaba should increase its buybacks, as he felt that the company’s stocks were grossly undervalued, according to the Journal. Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, who has been largely absent from public view since 2020, was one of the entrepreneurs present at an exclusive meeting led by Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this week. During the meeting, Jinping encouraged private businesses to showcase their abilities and boost their confidence in the ‘new era’ of their operations.

Cohen was appointed as the CEO of GameStop, a ‘meme stock,’ following his role in the company’s historical trading frenzy on Wall Street in 2021. Cohen, who is also the co-founder of Chewy, has been instrumental in revamping the traditional retail business over the past few years.

Under Cohen’s guidance, GameStop has concentrated on reducing expenses and improving operations to ensure the company’s profitability, despite the lack of growth. Recently, CNBC reported that GameStop is contemplating an investment in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

To read the original WSJ story, click here.