Alibaba is splitting itself into into six business groups as the Chinese e-commerce company attempts to become more nimble in reacting to changes in the market and increase the value of those units.
Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. jumped 8% at the opening bell.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that the six new groups will be made up of the Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Business Group, Local Services Group, Global Digital Business Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics and Digital Media and Entertainment Group.
The company said that each group will be able to raise outside capital and potentially seek its own initial public offering, except for Taobao Tmall Business Group, which will stay wholly-owned by Alibaba Group. Each group will be independently managed by its own CEO and board of directors.
The Cloud Intelligence Group includes cloud, AI and DingTalk. The Taobao Tmall Business Group includes Taobao, Tmall, Taobao Deals, Taocaicai and 1688.com. The Local Services Group includes Amap and Ele.me, while the Global Digital Business Group (including Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol, Daraz and Alibaba.com. The Digital Media and Entertainment Group includes Youku and Alibaba Pictures.
Alibaba has faced increased competition from short-video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou which also offer e-commerce services on their platforms. Its U.S.-listed stock has also been on the decline since a regulatory crackdown on the technology industry in November 2020 that saw regulators halt the IPO of its financial arm Ant Group and crack down on anticompetitive practices across the technology industry.
On Monday Alibaba founder Jack Ma resurfaced in China after months of overseas travel. Ma founded Alibaba in the 1990s and was once China’s richest man. He has kept a low profile with few public appearances since Nov. 2020, when he had publicly criticized China’s regulators and financial systems during a speech in Shanghai.
The Chinese government has been seeking to raise confidence in the private sector after regulatory crackdowns, on technology, education, online gaming and financial companies, and harsh COVID-19 restrictions slowed the economy.
Ma stepped down as Alibaba chairman in 2019, saying he hoped to focus on philanthropy. In January, he ceded control of Ant, the financial technology firm, amid a revamp of its shareholding structure.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
