Alibaba down in early US trade despite widening ambitions in UK and Italy
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings suffered a 1 per cent fall in its American depository receipts to US$71.92 in late morning trade on Tuesday despite the latest move in its ramping up of its global ambitions.
The company announced on Tuesday the appointment of country managers to run its British and Italian offices, as it hopes to become the gateway to China for European brands selling on e-commerce platforms to meet Chinese consumers’ growing demand for global top products.
The London office will serve as Alibaba’s European hub with Amee Chande, a former Wal-Mart and Staples UK executive taking the reins. Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio, previously the chief executive of online imported Italian food store Buonitalia, will head up the Milan office.
Shares of YY Inc, a social platform that engages users in real-time online group activities, shed 2.1 per cent to US$57.88, after gaining 7.9 per cent in the past three trading days. A Thomson Reuters poll showed analysts target the price will hit US$81.45 in one year.
Top gainers include New Oriental Education & Technology Group and Vipshop Holdings, with their ADR prices up 3.96 per cent and 3.38 per cent respectively .
The Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF rose 1.7 per cent to US$36.20. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF tracking Hong Kong shares fell 0.1 per cent to US$39.33.
