Alibaba names new Taobao and Tmall CEO in major move to fend off competition

PDD – founded 16 years after Alibaba’s establishment – was valued at US$197.2 billion, more than Alibaba’s US$187.8 billion, based on Tuesday’s New York closing prices.

The rise of PDD even elicited a response from founder Jack Ma, three years after his retirement as Alibaba’s executive chairman. PDD, which also runs Pinduoduo’s global platform Temu, posted a 94 per cent increase in its third-quarter revenue, outpacing Alibaba’s 9 per cent sales growth in the same period.

The billionaire praised PDD for the “decisions, execution and efforts” that helped the upstart vault past Alibaba, according to his internal memo to staff.

Alibaba overhauled its sprawling empire in late March, splitting its myriad businesses into six independently run entities: Cloud Intelligence Group, e-commerce under Taobao-Tmall, Cainiao’s smart logistics operations, Local Services, Global Digital Business Group, and Digital Media and Entertainment Group.

Each of the business units would face the test of market forces individually, and find their own path to compete, including the possibility of seeking their own fundraising avenues through initial public offerings (IPOs), Alibaba said while announcing the reorganisation. The business units would separately set up their own boards of directors.

Wu, 48, a founding member of Alibaba Group, has highlighted artificial intelligence and client service as the future for Alibaba.

The stock price of Alibaba has dropped three-quarters from its peak in late 2020, even as the e-commerce giant has delivered steady revenue and profit growth. Its operating profit in the September quarter rose 34 per cent from a year ago to 33.6 billion yuan (US$4.75 billion), double PDD’s earnings in the same quarter.

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Alibaba отключение конкуренция крупный шаг генеральный директор Tmall Taobao PDD