Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA) shares fell more than 4% on Thursday, trading at $95.47.
The decline follows reports that Alibaba filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on June 23, formally suing the U.S. Department of Defense. The company is seeking its removal from the "Chinese Military Companies" list, also known as the 1260H list.
In the legal filing, Alibaba strongly asserted that the U.S. designation lacks any factual or legal basis. The company outlined several key arguments in its complaint.
Alibaba emphasized that it is governed by an independent board of directors, none of whom have any military affiliations. The company's products and services are focused on the retail, logistics, and enterprise information technology sectors and are unrelated to weapons, defense, or intelligence operations.
Alibaba contends that the decision to include it on the list was arbitrary and capricious.