Alibaba Group scrapped plans to spin off its cloud business, citing uncertainties over U.S. curbs on exports to China of chips used in artificial intelligence applications. Alibaba Group's Hong Kong shares closed down 10%, their biggest single-day drop in more than a year. Alibaba's concerns are over the U.S. export curbs announced by Washington in October. Analysts say keeping the cloud unit could assist Alibaba's AI push, as the chip ban might materially affect its ability to offer AI products and services in the long run. Alibaba will now focus on growing the cloud business and providing investment for its artificial intelligence drivers.