https://www.scmp.com/rss/170008/feed Jack Ma Yun, born in 1964, is a famous Chinese Internet entrepreneur and founder of Alibaba, Taobao and Alipay, three of China's leading e-commerce firms. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Eunice Xu Eunice Xu Victory Giant, a Chinese manufacturer of printed circuit boards (PCBs) for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, rose by 57.23 per cent in its trading debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday, as investors rushed to tap into surging global demand for the hardware powering the AI infrastructure boom. Shares in the Guangdong-based company, a supplier to US chip leader Nvidia, opened at HK$330, versus the offer price of HK$209.88 – the maximum offer price. The firm raised HK$20 billion... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3350801/chinese-circuit-board-supplier-victory-giant-jumps-hong-kong-share-debut?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3350801/chinese-circuit-board-supplier-victory-giant-jumps-hong-kong-share-debut?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 01:43:39 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and the core leadership of Alibaba Group Holding and Ant Group spent over an hour with teachers in Hangzhou on Tuesday, discussing the profound challenges and opportunities brought about by artificial intelligence. Ma told the group that the impact of AI was “immense”, but so were the “opportunities” and that teenagers held the greatest hope and opportunity for adapting to and enabling transformation in the AI era, according to a statement issued by Hangzhou Yungu... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345343/jack-ma-alibaba-executives-meet-teachers-discuss-how-education-should-adapt-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345343/jack-ma-alibaba-executives-meet-teachers-discuss-how-education-should-adapt-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 03:37:00 +0000 Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin They are young, intensely competitive, and unapologetic about 80-hour work weeks. Welcome to the United States’ new generation of tech founders. Gen Z’s start-up class is reframing “millennial hustle culture” by shifting from side gigs and personal branding to a more rigid office grind, while looking to China for inspiration. It’s for this reason that US artificial intelligence start-ups are openly embracing 996, the controversial 9am to 9pm, six-day-a-week schedule popularised by Chinese tech... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3344052/996-goes-west-us-ai-start-ups-adopt-china-techs-controversial-work-schedule-get-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3344052/996-goes-west-us-ai-start-ups-adopt-china-techs-controversial-work-schedule-get-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 14:00:07 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Education in China’s countryside should shift away from rote-based learning to focus on nurturing curiosity and creativity in the artificial intelligence era, Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma said in a meeting with rural teachers on Monday. In remarks published by the Jack Ma Foundation on Tuesday, former English teacher Ma said the dawn of the AI era posed a challenge for rural education, but also presented an opportunity to “return to the fundamentals of education”. Alibaba owns the South... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3341543/teach-our-children-well-jack-ma-urges-changes-chinas-rural-education-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3341543/teach-our-children-well-jack-ma-urges-changes-chinas-rural-education-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:00:09 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng YF Capital, a private equity firm backed by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma Yun, has taken a minority stake in Shanghai-based memory chip developer InnoStar Semiconductor, according to corporate records. Hainan Yunfeng Fund Centre, an affiliate of YF Capital, became the chipmaker’s 14th-largest shareholder after acquiring a 2.1 per cent stake, based on a change record dated December 17 on business information platform Aiqicha. The investment came after Ant Group backed InnoStar in August. Both YF... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3337497/jack-ma-backed-yf-capital-takes-stake-shanghai-memory-chipmaker-innostar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3337497/jack-ma-backed-yf-capital-takes-stake-shanghai-memory-chipmaker-innostar?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 13:00:09 +0000 Cheryl Arcibal Cheryl Arcibal Activity in Hong Kong’s ultra-luxury residential market is picking up, with Swire Properties selling two homes in Deep Water Bay for a whopping HK$2.2 billion (US$283 million). The two three-storey units at 6 Deep Water Bay Road had saleable areas of about 9,600 sq ft and 5,300 sq ft, with the transactions set to be completed in the first quarter of 2026, the developer said. Both units were acquired by the same buyer. On a per square foot basis, the deal works out to HK$147,010, “one of the... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3337328/swire-properties-sells-2-deep-water-bay-homes-us283-million-biggest-deal-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3337328/swire-properties-sells-2-deep-water-bay-homes-us283-million-biggest-deal-years?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 23:30:09 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela A microbiologist who revolutionised the production of laboratory-grown seafood protein took home the top prize in the 2025 African Business Heroes awards in Rwanda on Saturday, in the seventh annual edition of the largest event for start-ups of its kind on the continent. Diana Orembe, the founder of Tanzania-based NovFeed, was the winner out of 10 finalists in the awards, which received up to 32,000 applications from 54 countries. She took home US$300,000 in grant funding. Abraham Mbuthia of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336326/china-africa-partnership-leaps-future-beijing-expands-market-access-envoy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336326/china-africa-partnership-leaps-future-beijing-expands-market-access-envoy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 09:19:45 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Alibaba Group Holding named its cloud unit’s technology officer Zhou Jingren, who also leads its artificial intelligence lab Tongyi and the development of its Qwen AI models, as a new member of the group in charge of steering the business empire, according to people briefed about the decision. Alibaba has not updated the information on its official website. The Alibaba Partnership had 17 members before the addition, including co-founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai as permanent ones. Alibaba did not... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3335932/alibaba-names-ai-lab-leader-zhou-jingren-new-group-partner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3335932/alibaba-names-ai-lab-leader-zhou-jingren-new-group-partner?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 12:00:42 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial A blaze that cannot be contained in one tower is a nightmare scenario for a high-rise city. In an extreme case, it can spread to companion towers like a firestorm. It happened to Hong Kong on Wednesday night. The catastrophic consequences of the city’s deadliest fire in decades are still being counted in the numbers of dead, injured, missing and homeless after the Tai Po public housing estate inferno. Our first thoughts must be with the grieving families. President Xi Jinping, on Wednesday... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3334407/community-effort-needed-help-survivors-and-those-who-lost-loved-ones-tai-po-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3334407/community-effort-needed-help-survivors-and-those-who-lost-loved-ones-tai-po-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 22:45:07 +0000 Zhou Xin Zhou Xin The Jack Ma Foundation said on Thursday it would donate HK$30 million (US$3.9 million) to support families, firefighters and rescuers affected by a deadly fire at a housing estate in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district. In a statement, the foundation – established by the founder of Alibaba Group Holding and Ant Group – expressed solidarity with all those affected by the tragedy. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. The donation follows a further commitment of HK$20 million from Alibaba and HK$10... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3334336/jack-ma-foundation-alibaba-and-ant-group-pledge-us8-million-hong-kong-fire-victims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3334336/jack-ma-foundation-alibaba-and-ant-group-pledge-us8-million-hong-kong-fire-victims?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 07:22:14 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Ant Group’s new “vibe coding” artificial intelligence app LingGuang has overwhelmed servers after user downloads surpassed 1 million in just four days, hitting the milestone faster than OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Sora, according to the Chinese fintech giant. The app’s innovative functionality of generating applications in response to users’ text prompts was temporarily suspended on Thursday evening, with the company attributing the issue to excessive usage in a post on Weibo. As of Saturday, LingGuang... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3333776/ant-groups-lingguang-vibe-coding-app-hits-1-million-downloads-just-4-days?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3333776/ant-groups-lingguang-vibe-coding-app-hits-1-million-downloads-just-4-days?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Nov 2025 01:00:28 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma on Tuesday made a low-key visit to the Hangzhou campus of Ant Group that coincided with the Chinese fintech giant’s launch of LingGuang, a next-generation multimodal artificial intelligence assistant. Ma, who had relinquished his control of the fintech company and resigned from all corporate roles at Alibaba, was seen accompanied by Ant Group chairman Eric Jing Xiandong and CEO Cyril Han Xinyi during his tour of the campus. Ant Group is an affiliate of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3333403/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-visits-ant-group-campus-fintech-giant-ramps-ai-efforts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3333403/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-visits-ant-group-campus-fintech-giant-ramps-ai-efforts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Nov 2025 10:00:50 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Bitcoin continues to plunge as a cryptocurrency sell-off deepens, shaving off gains in share prices that some Hong Kong-listed firms made this year after launching digital asset initiatives. Bitcoin at one point on Tuesday dropped below US$90,000, more than 4 per cent lower than at the start of 2025, after hitting multiple all-time highs this year. The world’s largest cryptocurrency had “underperformed both gold and the Nasdaq amid risk-off sentiment and tight liquidity, exacerbated by the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3333253/extreme-fear-bitcoin-plunge-hammers-hong-kong-listed-firms-tied-digital-assets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3333253/extreme-fear-bitcoin-plunge-hammers-hong-kong-listed-firms-tied-digital-assets?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Nov 2025 10:00:19 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Ant Group affiliate OceanBase has unveiled plans to strengthen its presence in Hong Kong, using the city as a base for overseas expansion to grow its share in the global database market dominated by US technology giant Oracle. The Chinese distributed database provider had designated Hong Kong as a “strategic hub” for its global expansion, following rapid growth in the city, as well as in Macau and the mainland, CEO Evan Yang said on Thursday. The move further solidified Hong Kong’s role as a hub... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3331779/ant-group-affiliate-oceanbase-uses-hong-kong-hub-challenge-oracle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3331779/ant-group-affiliate-oceanbase-uses-hong-kong-hub-challenge-oracle?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Nov 2025 09:00:30 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding kicked off direct sales for its annual Singles’ Day shopping festival on Monday, with initial figures surpassing last year’s performance – a sign of strengthening domestic consumption during China’s biggest online retail event. Since direct sales began on Taobao and Tmall at 8pm on Monday, 80 brands had exceeded 100 million yuan (US$13.8 million) in sales within the first hour, while more than 30,000 brands doubled their takings from a year earlier, according to data... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3329770/alibabas-singles-day-shows-faster-growth-80-brands-hit-us14-million-hour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3329770/alibabas-singles-day-shows-faster-growth-80-brands-hit-us14-million-hour?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Oct 2025 09:00:10 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding is taking advantage of artificial intelligence to turn its online marketplace into a “comprehensive consumption platform”, as the e-commerce giant regains momentum in an extremely competitive market. The company kicked off its annual Singles’ Day event – the world’s largest shopping festival – on Wednesday, riding on the back of strong growth in online shopping and on-demand delivery. Taobao and Tmall, Alibaba’s two domestic e-commerce platforms, are offering 50 billion... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3329266/alibaba-banks-ai-boost-singles-day-sales-taobao-tmall?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3329266/alibaba-banks-ai-boost-singles-day-sales-taobao-tmall?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 11:00:32 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Yunfeng Financial Group, a fintech company backed by Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma, has hired a former senior executive at Ant Group, which signalled a sharpened commitment to Web3 businesses. Geoff Jiang Guofei – former president at Ant Digital Technology Business Group, responsible for leading the fintech giant’s blockchain project – now serves as the “chairman of the Web3 Development Committee” at Hong Kong-listed Yunfeng, according to a fact sheet for investors published on the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3325989/jack-ma-backed-yunfeng-names-ex-ant-group-executive-top-web3-architect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3325989/jack-ma-backed-yunfeng-names-ex-ant-group-executive-top-web3-architect?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Sep 2025 11:00:09 +0000 Eric Ng,Aileen Chuang Eric Ng,Aileen Chuang GCL Technology, one of China’s largest solar panel raw materials makers, and Yunfeng Financial Group, plan to take advantage of Hong Kong’s sustained stock market recovery to raise HK$6.6 billion (US$848.5 million) to fund their expansion. GCL agreed to sell 4.74 billion shares to Infini Capital Management, a Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi-based firm owned by Tony Chin, the Jiangsu-based maker of polysilicon and solar wafers said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Tuesday. The selling price at... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3325674/gcl-yunfeng-ride-hong-kong-stock-market-recovery-us8485-million-funding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3325674/gcl-yunfeng-ride-hong-kong-stock-market-recovery-us8485-million-funding?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2025 04:11:13 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding has fired another shot at on-demand delivery giant Meituan, with a campaign that brings merchants from its Tmall business-to-consumer shopping platform onto its Taobao Instant Commerce site. The campaign – dubbed “Jishigou”, which translates to instant purchase in Chinese – has seen more than 260 brands on Alibaba’s Tmall premium retail platform join its instant commerce service, the company said on Tuesday. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. Taobao Shangou,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3324924/alibaba-mobilises-merchants-premium-tmall-site-join-instant-commerce-drive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3324924/alibaba-mobilises-merchants-premium-tmall-site-join-instant-commerce-drive?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Sep 2025 12:17:10 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Alibaba Group Holding is rolling out a new outfit for its delivery workers that resembles the racing suit for Formula One (F1) racers, as the company seeks to give China’s e-commerce sector a facelift. Alibaba will conduct an internal auction of 102 autographed uniforms, signed by group founder Jack Ma, CEO Eddie Wu Yongming and e-commerce chief Jiang Fan for the firm’s employees on September 10, Alibaba’s anniversary, according to a company post on Friday. The new orange uniform, a change from... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3324791/new-f1-style-outfit-alibaba-shows-effort-give-china-e-commerce-sector-facelift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3324791/new-f1-style-outfit-alibaba-shows-effort-give-china-e-commerce-sector-facelift?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Sep 2025 01:00:13 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen A subsidiary of Fosun International this week marked a new milestone in bringing traditional financial instruments onto a blockchain infrastructure, which it touted as Asia’s first “comprehensive” technical solution for stock performance-linked tokens. Fosun Wealth Holdings-backed start-up Finloop Finance Technology Holding collaborated with FinChain, a Web3 brand under Fosun Wealth, in creating the new solution for real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation in Hong Kong. The first Hong Kong stock... https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3324522/fosun-drives-interest-honk-kong-stock-performance-linked-tokens-blockchains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3324522/fosun-drives-interest-honk-kong-stock-performance-linked-tokens-blockchains?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 11:00:12 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen A growing number of Hong Kong-listed firms are snapping up cryptocurrency on the back of rising bitcoin prices and the popularity of digital asset treasury (DAT) companies in the US. Investment bank China Renaissance, which helped fund many leading Chinese tech firms, and Yunfeng Financial Group, backed by Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma, are among the Hong Kong-listed financial institutions that have recently bought a large amount of crypto tokens, according to their respective filings.... https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3324365/hong-kong-listed-firms-sharpen-digital-asset-investment-strategy-amid-rising-crypto-prices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3324365/hong-kong-listed-firms-sharpen-digital-asset-investment-strategy-amid-rising-crypto-prices?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 12:30:11 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Yunfeng Financial Group, backed by Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma, said it was investing in the cryptocurrency ether as part of its reserve assets, as the company expands into Web3 amid Hong Kong’s digital asset initiative. To date, Hong Kong-listed Yunfeng has invested US$44 million to acquire 10,000 ether for its “strategic reserve”, according to an exchange filing on Tuesday. Ether would provide “key infrastructure support” for real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation activities, Yunfeng... https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3324137/yunfeng-financial-invests-us44-million-ether-amid-hong-kongs-virtual-asset-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3324137/yunfeng-financial-invests-us44-million-ether-amid-hong-kongs-virtual-asset-push?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2025 05:01:06 +0000 Hannah Wang Hannah Wang Alibaba Group Holding and its fintech affiliate Ant Group, both co-founded by Jack Ma, have joined forces to create an army of delivery service workers to defeat Meituan in the instant commerce market. A total of 22 businesses operated by Alibaba and Ant, including domestic online marketplaces Taobao and Tmall, Ant’s Alipay payment service and Alibaba Cloud, have pledged to improve the conditions of millions of delivery riders. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. Alibaba’s move to pool... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3322369/alibaba-ant-combine-forces-take-meituan-chinas-instant-commerce-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3322369/alibaba-ant-combine-forces-take-meituan-chinas-instant-commerce-market?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2025 12:00:08 +0000 June Xia,Ji Siqi June Xia,Ji Siqi In another show of support for China’s private sector, Beijing has released the details of a speech from President Xi Jinping which included vows the country would guarantee a level playing field for private firms, safeguard entrepreneurs’ lawful rights and interests, and step up efforts to solve their long-standing challenges, including overdue payments. The full address, delivered in February to a group of China’s leading entrepreneurs, had not been made available to the public before Friday,... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3321999/chinas-xi-jinping-calls-no-delay-private-sector-protection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3321999/chinas-xi-jinping-calls-no-delay-private-sector-protection?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Aug 2025 09:00:22 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Alibaba Group Holding’s chief financial officer Toby Xu Hong reiterated the company’s confidence in China’s growing artificial intelligence sector and the consumer market’s resilience in an interview with state news agency Xinhua, as he highlighted the tech giant’s significant investments in AI research, infrastructure, and on-demand delivery. Xu said Alibaba had earmarked 380 billion yuan (US$52 billion) for AI infrastructure, and 50 billion yuan for subsidies to merchants and consumers to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3320131/alibabas-finance-chief-voices-confidence-chinas-ai-boom-and-consumer-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3320131/alibabas-finance-chief-voices-confidence-chinas-ai-boom-and-consumer-market?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jul 2025 09:00:17 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen China is set to showcase its artificial intelligence (AI) prowess, as well as its vision of how to manage the disruptive technology, at a conference in Shanghai as the country is stepping up its competition against the US for AI supremacy. The annual three-day World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), which starts on July 26, would showcase more than 3,000 hi-tech products, 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 intelligent robots, according to the organisers. Most of the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3317737/chinas-ai-acumen-vision-be-showcased-waic-shanghai-amid-fierce-race-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3317737/chinas-ai-acumen-vision-be-showcased-waic-shanghai-amid-fierce-race-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 12:00:09 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding has trimmed its partnership – a key corporate governance body for the e-commerce and artificial intelligence (AI) giant – as it embraces younger business leaders and strives to return to a start-up mindset. Nine executives and company veterans – including former CEO Daniel Zhang Yong, 53, and fellow co-founders Trudy Dai Shan, 48, and Lucy Peng Lei, 51, who started the company with Jack Ma in 1999 – have exited the partnership, according to Alibaba’s annual report released... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3316078/alibaba-trims-key-governance-body-it-embraces-ai-and-bets-younger-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3316078/alibaba-trims-key-governance-body-it-embraces-ai-and-bets-younger-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jun 2025 07:30:08 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Alibaba Group Holding is merging its food delivery platform Ele.me and online travel agency Fliggy into its core e-commerce business, as the Chinese tech giant seeks to streamline operations and sharpen its focus on artificial intelligence (AI). The restructuring “marks a strategic upgrade from an e-commerce platform to a comprehensive consumer platform”, Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming wrote in a letter to employees on Monday. “Moving forward, we will increasingly optimise our business models and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3315436/alibaba-merges-delivery-platform-eleme-and-travel-agency-fliggy-e-commerce-group?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3315436/alibaba-merges-delivery-platform-eleme-and-travel-agency-fliggy-e-commerce-group?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Jun 2025 03:51:18 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Charles Zhang Chaoyang, the founder, chairman and CEO of Chinese internet pioneer Sohu.com, urges college students on the mainland to skip postgraduate studies and defer plans to start a new business until they “gain some real experience” by working for a company. Citing his own experiences, Zhang said his postgraduate degree did not contribute much when he set up and began running his own company, according to his Saturday interview with Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher at Hurun... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3314645/china-internet-pioneer-urges-students-skip-graduate-school-defer-start-plans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3314645/china-internet-pioneer-urges-students-skip-graduate-school-defer-start-plans?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jun 2025 00:00:15 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Ant International, which was spun off from fintech giant Ant Group last year, published its first independent sustainability report on Monday, underscoring its operational autonomy from its Chinese parent. Speculation has been rife over a potential listing by Ant International, which is registered in Singapore. In the report, the company emphasised its “new corporate identity”, describing its mission as “to make it easy to do business anywhere, bringing small and beautiful changes to the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3314582/ant-international-issues-first-sustainability-report-after-spin-amid-ipo-speculation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3314582/ant-international-issues-first-sustainability-report-after-spin-amid-ipo-speculation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jun 2025 07:00:11 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group Holding, responded to the resignation letter of a long-term employee on Tuesday, a rare move for the tech veteran who stepped back from all corporate roles in 2019. In a response published on Alibaba’s internal website, Ma addressed the concerns raised by a 15-year employee, who criticised the “big company disease” afflicting the Chinese e-commerce giant in an extensive internal letter. The employee, a product development leader on the team responsible for... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3314089/jack-ma-replies-alibaba-employees-letter-lamenting-big-company-disease?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3314089/jack-ma-replies-alibaba-employees-letter-lamenting-big-company-disease?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2025 03:45:07 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding is renaming its digital entertainment division as part of a broader push to reinvigorate growth outside its core e-commerce and cloud businesses. Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group will be renamed Hujing Digital Media and Entertainment Group, using the Chinese name for the orca, or killer whale, Alibaba said in a statement on its official WeChat account on Wednesday. “Orcas are large but flexible and smart, and can adapt to various complex environments,” the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3311256/alibabas-entertainment-group-renamed-after-killer-whale-it-seeks-revive-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3311256/alibabas-entertainment-group-renamed-after-killer-whale-it-seeks-revive-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 May 2025 23:00:17 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Jack Ma-backed Ant Group’s international division generated nearly US$3 billion in revenue for 2024, according to people familiar with the matter, setting the stage for a spin-off after the unit set up its own board last year. Ant International, which is headquartered in Singapore, has also produced two consecutive years of adjusted profit, the people said, requesting not to be named because the information is not public. It is not clear how the company calculates its adjusted Ebitda – earnings... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3310945/ant-groups-global-unit-pulls-us3-billion-revenue-ahead-spin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3310945/ant-groups-global-unit-pulls-us3-billion-revenue-ahead-spin?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 May 2025 10:51:22 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding’s operations will be driven by artificial intelligence (AI) in the next three to five years, in line with the e-commerce giant’s ambitious AI strategy, according to chairman Joe Tsai. “In the next three to five years, all of our businesses should be driven by AI,” Tsai said on Saturday at AliDay, the company’s annual gathering for staff and family members. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. He added that he envisioned AI helping to grow the user base for its... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3309905/ai-will-be-mainstay-alibabas-business-next-3-5-years-chairman-joe-tsai-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3309905/ai-will-be-mainstay-alibabas-business-next-3-5-years-chairman-joe-tsai-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 May 2025 10:00:16 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group Holding, received a rock-star welcome on Friday as he appeared at an annual event for staff and family, lifting employees’ spirits during a time of strategic repositioning at the business empire he established, according to company sources. Ma, 60, visited Alibaba’s campus in Hangzhou, capital of east Zhejiang province, in the evening. He toured a replica of the flat where he founded the company 26 years ago and attended a music show alongside thousands of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3309853/jack-mas-alibaba-visit-and-replica-flat-spark-nostalgia-over-companys-humble-start?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3309853/jack-mas-alibaba-visit-and-replica-flat-spark-nostalgia-over-companys-humble-start?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 May 2025 10:30:09 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding, which went through a sweeping restructuring two years ago by separating its sprawling operations into six major groups, is taking steps to break down barriers between different units, as the e-commerce giant refocuses resources on core priorities. Eddie Wu Yongming, Alibaba’s CEO, told employees on Friday that the company would “mobilise at full strength and concentrate our efforts on a few core strategic priorities”, with “key initiatives driven jointly by multiple... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3309664/alibaba-breaks-down-barriers-ceo-eddie-wu-calls-return-entrepreneurial-roots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3309664/alibaba-breaks-down-barriers-ceo-eddie-wu-calls-return-entrepreneurial-roots?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 May 2025 03:46:38 +0000 Frank Chen Frank Chen China’s newly passed private sector law bans “profit-driven” enforcement that unfairly targets the non-state sector, according to the full text of the legislation, underscoring Beijing’s determination to rein in local authorities and allay private entrepreneurs’ concerns as the country faces increasing economic pressure at home and abroad. Compared with the initial draft released last year, the final version of the 78-article Private Economy Promotion Law adds more weight to addressing... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3308676/chinas-new-private-sector-law-takes-aim-profit-driven-enforcement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3308676/chinas-new-private-sector-law-takes-aim-profit-driven-enforcement?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 May 2025 08:00:06 +0000 Salina Li Salina Li Ant Group has bought control of Hong Kong’s largest retail stock brokerage, as mainland China’s dominant online-payment operator stakes out a foothold in Asia’s third-largest capital market amid a resurgence of initial public offerings (IPOs) and transactions. Ant Group agreed to pay HK$2.81 billion (US$362.2 million) for 50.55 per cent of Bright Smart Securities & Commodities Group, according to a filing late Friday night to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Under the deal, Bright Smart chairman... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3308024/ant-group-buys-retail-broker-bright-smart-set-bridgehead-hong-kongs-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3308024/ant-group-buys-retail-broker-bright-smart-set-bridgehead-hong-kongs-market?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Apr 2025 06:02:40 +0000 The United States and China are not only locked in a growing tariff war that could drag the world economy into a recession but also stuck in an increasingly fierce competition in the field of artificial intelligence. So far, the US is seen as the leader in AI technologies but that does not necessarily mean it can simply declare itself the winner in the AI contest. The so-called DeepSeek effect – the revolutionary impact of the technologies developed by China’s home-grown AI start-up DeepSeek –... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3307357/ai-race-against-us-china-racking-real-world-wins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3307357/ai-race-against-us-china-racking-real-world-wins?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Apr 2025 08:30:08 +0000 Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma delivered a rare speech to the company’s cloud unit on Thursday, laying out his ideas and vision for a responsible and human-oriented artificial intelligence (AI), as the tech giant pivots to become China’s AI enabler. Ma, 60, made a surprise visit to Alibaba Cloud’s campus in Hangzhou on Thursday, wearing an employee badge, to show support for the unit. According to an edited transcript of his speech provided by Alibaba, Ma drove home the message that the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3306091/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-calls-responsible-ai-amid-its-wide-adoption-across-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3306091/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-calls-responsible-ai-amid-its-wide-adoption-across-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Apr 2025 05:00:08 +0000 Ann Cao,Ben Jiang Ann Cao,Ben Jiang Misa Zhu Mingming, an engineer who had worked at Alibaba Group Holding, left in 2014 to found his own venture, Rokid. The start-up, which develops smart glasses, was backed by angel investors that included Vision Plus Capital, formed by Eddie Wu Yongming and others before Wu became CEO of Alibaba in 2023. A decade later, Rokid has emerged as one of the most prominent technology start-ups in Hangzhou, Alibaba’s home city in eastern China. Over the past months, its augmented reality (AR) glasses,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3305243/how-alibaba-turning-chinas-ai-powerhouse-and-school-entrepreneurs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3305243/how-alibaba-turning-chinas-ai-powerhouse-and-school-entrepreneurs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Apr 2025 02:00:14 +0000 Robin Xing, chief China economist at Morgan Stanley, keeps a close eye on the Chinese economy’s progress and trade tensions with the United States. In the latest instalment of the Open Questions series, he talks about Beijing’s emphasis on technological innovation at the just concluded “two sessions”, the shape of stimulus packages, the return of animal spirits following efforts to boost the private economy, and the Trump trade war 2.0. This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3302415/economist-robin-xing-revival-chinas-animal-spirits-and-surviving-trump-20?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3302415/economist-robin-xing-revival-chinas-animal-spirits-and-surviving-trump-20?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Mar 2025 22:00:25 +0000 This latest interview in the Open Questions series features Robin Xing, chief China economist at Morgan Stanley, where he leads macro and foreign exchange research on China. Xing, who has written extensively on China’s long-term economic outlook, says it will take more than tech “dragons” to fire up the economy and discusses the “impossible trinity” that Beijing faces. An expert in topics including China’s capital flows and its supply chain transition, Xing says he uses “three Rs” to measure... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3302169/tech-driven-optimism-china-wont-fix-economic-ills-morgan-stanley-economist-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3302169/tech-driven-optimism-china-wont-fix-economic-ills-morgan-stanley-economist-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Mar 2025 08:52:07 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao President Xi Jinping’s high-profile meeting with technology business leaders last month significantly enhanced the confidence of Chinese companies, prompting Alibaba Group Holding to make substantial investments in artificial intelligence (AI), according to company chairman and co-founder Joe Tsai during a conference in Singapore. “I wouldn’t underestimate the importance of that event,” Tsai said on Wednesday at a gathering hosted by US broadcaster CNBC. “The message is very, very clear that the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3302080/alibabas-joe-tsai-xi-jinpings-entrepreneur-meeting-fuels-business-confidence-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3302080/alibabas-joe-tsai-xi-jinpings-entrepreneur-meeting-fuels-business-confidence-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Mar 2025 09:00:09 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang A new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs, represented by a group of start-up founders known as the “Fantastic Four”, are reshaping the global technology landscape and helping China in its rivalry with the US. Liang Wenfeng, founder of Hangzhou-based artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek, along with Wang Xingxing, Zhang Yiming and Wang Tao, the founders of Unitree Robotics, ByteDance and DJI, respectively, are being hailed for their role in transforming China into a formidable tech... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3300594/chinas-fantastic-four-new-breed-entrepreneurs-reshaping-global-tech-landscape?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3300594/chinas-fantastic-four-new-breed-entrepreneurs-reshaping-global-tech-landscape?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Mar 2025 03:00:14 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong Investors are eagerly awaiting clues from China’s annual political meetings next week to see whether the artificial intelligence (AI)-driven market rally will strengthen, betting on further policy support to address issues ranging from flagging consumption and a weak property market to the increased tariff risk from the US. More than 3,000 delegates from around the nation will gather for the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss the government work report, which... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3300384/taking-stock-all-eyes-chinas-two-sessions-catalysts-drive-ai-fuelled-rally?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3300384/taking-stock-all-eyes-chinas-two-sessions-catalysts-drive-ai-fuelled-rally?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Mar 2025 01:30:16 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior government officials met a group of prominent Chinese tech entrepreneurs in Beijing last week. That neither the property nor finance sector was represented sent a clear signal of the government’s priority. Attendees included Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding (which owns the South China Morning Post), Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun, Tencent founder and CEO Pony Ma Huateng, BYD chairman and CEO Wang Chuanfu and Huawei Technologies founder... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3299485/chinas-social-minded-technopreneurs-are-force-reckon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3299485/chinas-social-minded-technopreneurs-are-force-reckon?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Feb 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding’s strategic transformation into one of China’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies has investors all agog, as the Hangzhou-based tech conglomerate ratchets up investment over the next three years in this field. Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares surged 15 per cent to close at HK$138.50 on Friday, following an 8 per cent gain overnight in New York, as the company beat analysts’ consensus estimates with better-than-expected profit and revenue in the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3299696/alibaba-investors-hail-e-commerce-giants-ai-pivot-it-plots-major-investment-outlay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3299696/alibaba-investors-hail-e-commerce-giants-ai-pivot-it-plots-major-investment-outlay?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:00:12 +0000 Zhou Xin,Leopold Chen Zhou Xin,Leopold Chen China’s leading technology entrepreneurs, including Huawei Technologies founder Ren Zhengfei and Xiaomi founder Lei Jun, voiced their confidence in the country’s development prospects at a symposium chaired by President Xi Jinping this week. Ren, the face of China’s resilience against US hostilities in technology, told Xi that concerns had eased over China's lack of home-grown chips and operating systems – the “heart and soul” of modern technology – according to a report from the People’s Daily... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3299599/what-did-chinas-tech-entrepreneurs-tell-xi-jinping-symposium?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3299599/what-did-chinas-tech-entrepreneurs-tell-xi-jinping-symposium?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Feb 2025 07:09:18 +0000