By Kosaku Narioka

SoftBank Group Corp. shares rose sharply in early Thursday trade in Tokyo, helped by a rally in Chinese tech stocks following comments from top Chinese economic policy makers.

SoftBank Group shares were last 6.6% higher at 4,815 yen after rising as much as 9.8% earlier.

Chinese officials said they would introduce market-friendly policies and keep the capital market running smoothly, according to China's state news agency Xinhua on Wednesday.

The comments boosted Chinese tech stocks and Alibaba shares were last 8.5% higher in Hong Kong after surging 27% on Wednesday. Didi shares soared 42% and Full Truck Alliance jumped 36% overnight in the U.S.

That in turn lifted SoftBank's shares as investments in China accounted for 32% of its net asset value of 19.3 trillion yen ($162.52 billion) as of the end of December. The company has said its stake in Alibaba Group Holding made up 24% of its total net asset value. Other investments include stakes in Didi Global Inc. and Full Truck Alliance Co.

China's securities regulator is maintaining good communications with its U.S. counterparts and working to cooperate regarding accounting oversights of U.S.-listed Chinese companies, Xinhua said.

The risk of Chinese companies being ejected from U.S. exchanges had been one of the main triggers for the recent selloff in Chinese stocks.


Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-16-22 2326ET