JD.com follows Alibaba into China’s property market with dedicated online channel
E-commerce giants’ entry into industry, considered a key pillar of the Chinese economy, viewed as lending it greater transparency
China’s property market has become the latest battlefield for its top two e-commerce titans, as JD.com follows Alibaba Group’s foray into online property. It aims to leverage technology and an understanding of consumers to not only change the way homes are sold and rented out, but even how they are designed and constructed.
Beijing-based e-retailer JD.com on Tuesday launched a dedicated online channel for real estate businesses, pledging to use an “innovative” way to better connect property developers and potential buyers and tenants in China, where the central government has reinforced efforts to stabilise housing prices and bolster the rental market.
JD.com’s entry comes about two months after Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, made its foray into the online housing market. Alibaba, which already sells property online, uses technologies such as facial recognition and online credit analysis to offer tenants an easy way to rent flats without the risk of fraud.
Lu Zhenwang, chief executive at the Shanghai-based Wanqing Consultancy, said entry into China’s property industry – one of the key pillars of the world’s second-largest economy – is expected to give the online finance businesses of both e-commerce giants a significant boost.
“With the sky-high property prices in mega cities in China, imagine how much money people will need to borrow to buy a flat or lease one,” he said.