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E-commerce

Alibaba listing opens new front in Tencent rivalry

27 Nov 2019

Hong Kong investors can own both Chinese tech giants after the e-commerce firm’s $11 bln local offering. If regulators permit, the pair will soon be fighting over mainland shareholders, as well as digital payments and cloud computing. Tencent’s scarcity value has been downgraded.

Japan is surprise bright spot for India’s Paytm

26 Nov 2019

The $16 bln payments giant is thriving in a similarly cash-addicted nation. Flush with cash raised from Ant Financial and others, it could get an extra Tokyo boost as SoftBank leads a rejig with local app Line. Like its startup peers, Paytm may find foreign shores lucrative.

China’s Pinduoduo digs in for a long Alibaba fight

21 Nov 2019

Investors wiped $11 bln off the e-commerce challenger’s market value after it posted a worse-than-expected quarterly loss. The rising cost of wooing consumers is to blame, as Pinduoduo battles its largest rival for big-city shoppers. Profitability just got a little more distant.

Alibaba’s bankers get more buck for their bang

21 Nov 2019

They are being paid the same $30 mln as the printers, but also sold $11 bln of shares that practically sold themselves. Uber’s advisers took a bigger 1.3% cut for a tougher $8 bln deal. For the amount of work involved, Saudi Aramco’s team is reaping the lowest return on effort.

Alibaba logistics deal is hard Singles’ Day sell

11 Nov 2019

The web giant’s online shopping fest kicked off to fanfare on Monday, overshadowing news that Alibaba will invest $3 bln in a subsidiary it already controls. Neither financial details nor strategic rationale were given. Shareholders, unlike shoppers, can’t see this price tag.

Tech firms muscling in on banks, like it or not

5 Nov 2019

Uber and Facebook have designs on finance, and Japanese e-commerce group Rakuten wants to set up a U.S. bank. Community lenders have warded off interlopers before. But if regulators value financial inclusion and customers want innovation, small banks are fighting the tide.

Alibaba readies itself for lighter shopping days

1 Nov 2019

Quarterly sales of $17 bln beat expectations, but growth has come down sharply from a year earlier. Boss Daniel Zhang is shoring up the core e-commerce unit, while investing in new areas. Proceeds of $15 bln from a mooted listing in Hong Kong will also help to soften the blow.

Jeff Bezos will be on Congress’s shopping list

24 Oct 2019

The behemoth entrenched its hold on consumers with 24% quarterly sales growth. Ruthless expansion in areas like ads, where its digital dominance gives it a leg up, along with a push into healthcare, will accelerate a showdown with critics from Donald Trump to Elizabeth Warren.

Alibaba is too old for retro financial nonsense

26 Sep 2019

China’s e-commerce giant figures its $450 bln market cap would more than double if its customers were valued like Amazon’s. That’s a silly comparison for a 20-year-old company with solid growth and profit. A planned Hong Kong listing and the trade war explain the defensive hype.

EBay CEO exit sends warning call to AT&T boss

25 Sep 2019

Devin Wenig is leaving months after Elliott Management politely persuaded the $32 bln online marketplace to sell assets and improve operations. The activist investor has launched a similar campaign against the $273 bln telecom firm. The outcome could be the same.

Kazakh fintech IPO complicated by local quirks

16 Sep 2019

Kaspi.kz combines a bank, a payments business, and an e-commerce marketplace. Its upcoming London listing invites flattering comparisons with established online players. But the peculiarities of the country’s digital economy mean it may struggle to command similar valuations.

Yahoo Japan pushes Zozo investors into new orbit

12 Sep 2019

The SoftBank-backed web portal offered $3.7 bln for control of the ailing fashion site. Zozo’s boss, who bought SpaceX’s first ticket to the moon, is tendering most of his stake. Other owners may want to sell too: Yahoo Japan recently trampled on minority shareholders elsewhere.

Alibaba finds a new ally against an old foe

6 Sep 2019

The Chinese titan is buying part of video-games group NetEase's e-commerce business for $2 bln. More significantly, the two are forging closer ties in music-streaming, where rival Tencent’s dominance is under antitrust scrutiny. That combination paves the way for further deals.

Viewsroom: How money really can grow on trees

5 Sep 2019

Done right, reforestation can capture much of the carbon causing climate change. It would improve crop yields and water quality and lessen the power of floods and storms like Hurricane Dorian. There are good financial returns to reap, too. Plus: the Alibaba competitor to watch.

Alibaba drives home costs of Hong Kong unrest

21 Aug 2019

The Chinese giant will delay a mooted $15 bln listing in the Asian hub after brewer AB InBev shelved its own. A trade war and protests are a poor backdrop for big offers. That will deter others and land a fresh blow to a city where business confidence is rapidly on the decline.

Walmart proves it’s a port in gathering storm

15 Aug 2019

Strong sales last quarter, especially in e-commerce, allowed the $300 bln giant to sail past growing headwinds battering retail rivals. It may even be able to withstand more Trump tariffs. And in a broader downturn, CEO Doug McMillon could pick up more price-conscious shoppers.

Alibaba gets tailwind from Beijing stimulus

15 Aug 2019

Better-than-expected quarterly results from Jack Ma's $420 bln e-commerce empire show Chinese consumers are still spending amid slowing economic growth and a trade war. Tax cuts boosted earnings at rival JD.com. Lower levies will also help keep Alibaba's momentum going.

JD deserves to be in trade-war tech discount bin

9 Aug 2019

Chinese new-age stocks have turned volatile. Loss-making JD, the $40 bln Alibaba-rival, has lost up to one fifth its value since July. The retailer’s focus on sales of big-ticket items make it especially vulnerable to slowing growth and trade tensions. Rivals look more nimble.

EU Amazon case pushes tech towards utility status

17 Jul 2019

Antitrust tsar Margrethe Vestager may probe the $990 billion group’s use of merchants’ data. That would fit with a wider European drive to stop technology companies’ platforms from favouring their own services. Tighter rules will, however, cement bigger players’ dominance.