E-commerce

This file photo taken on 2 October 2018 shows Alibaba Group co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma attending the opening debate of the 2018 edition of the WTO public forum on sustainable trade, at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

Where to now for Alibaba in the post-Jack Ma era?

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has given up controlling rights in the company he founded, Ant Group Co. All eyes are now on what lies ahead for Ant and Alibaba, which owns 33% of the company and was co-founded by Ma.
An employee transfers items for delivery ahead of the Singles’ Day shopping festival which falls on 11 November , at a logistics center in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on 10 November 2022. (Photo by AFP)

China's e-commerce sector emerging from dark times

One major effect of the lockdowns in China has been disruptions to delivery and logistics services, resulting in many e-commerce businesses being unable to dispatch goods and fulfill online orders. Guangdong, an important light industrial area in southern China, with a comprehensive wholesale market system in its capital Guangzhou, has been particularly badly hit. Zaobao journalists Zeng Shi and Hedy Yang speak to e-commerce business owners and other players to find out more.
Richard Liu Qiangdong, founder of JD.com. (JD.com website)

Salary cuts for senior managers: Is JD.com founder Richard Liu championing ‘common prosperity’?

JD.com founder Richard Liu has been in the news lately following an announcement that the company is set to improve social benefits for rank-and-file employees, while cutting salaries for senior management. While it seems to kill many birds with one stone, is this a long term solution for private firms?
A person walks past a JD.com advertisement for the "618" shopping festival displayed outside a shopping mall in Beijing, China, 14 June 2022. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo/Reuters)

Chinese internet giants gear up for global e-commerce push

Amid tightening Covid-19 controls, disrupted logistics and e-commerce user base plateauing in 2020, Chinese e-commerce companies are facing tightened scrutiny and slowing growth in revenue. Furthermore, advertising — the most important source of revenue for internet companies — has been weak for more than a year. This leads Chinese tech companies to turn their attention overseas, and those without an overseas development plan will be left behind. Caixin journalists tell us more.
Short video platforms Douyin and Kuaishou have focused on a new model of "goods seeking people". (Internet)

Newcomers Douyin and Kuaishou takes on tech giants to refresh the face of e-commerce

Technology expert Yin Ruizhi delves into the differences between traditional e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba and JD, and “interest-based” platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou, and explores the possibilities for what e-commerce might look like in the future, as both types of platforms operate alongside each other.
Sensing that I'm drawn to such content, Douyin’s algorithm recommended more stories of Chinese families that tug at the heartstrings. (Screenshots provided by Jessie Tan)

Singaporean in China: China's poor no longer beg, they livestream

Former journalist Jessie Tan muses over the phenomenon of those in need transitioning from begging on the streets to selling goods on Douyin. While the poor or disabled have been given a more dignified and effective source of income, this is just one aspect of the good that comes with social media and technology.
People walk past a Xiaomi store in Mumbai, India, 11 May 2022. (Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)

Once ‘the world’s factory’, China now builds global brands

In the sixth of a seven-part Lianhe Zaobao-Business Times series on China and ASEAN, we look at how brands from China are going international, particularly among Gen Z consumers in Southeast Asia.
Staff members walk past a logo of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba at its headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on 27 May 2022. (AFP)

China tech companies draw up war plans for ASEAN battleground

In the second of a seven-part Lianhe Zaobao-Business Times series on China and ASEAN, Zaobao senior correspondent Chew Boon Leong looks at the strategies adopted and challenges faced by China’s tech companies in Southeast Asia.
Workers in protective suits disinfect an old residential area under lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic, in Shanghai, China, 15 April 2022. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Shanghai's Covid shutdown is disrupting domestic and global supply chains

As Shanghai battles with its worst Covid-19 outbreak, stringent anti-epidemic measures confining almost everyone at home have ground the city to a halt. It is believed that if Shanghai is not able to resume production by May, industries with supply chains in the area will not be able to function, and the automotive industry will be hit the hardest.