Alibaba Strategic Shift: Exploring Asset Sales, Including Freshippo and RT-Mart, Amid Core Business Focus
Alibaba Explores Asset Sale in Shift Towards Core Business
The sources, requesting anonymity due to confidentiality, revealed that Alibaba has engaged in discussions with both strategic and financial investors regarding these assets. The assets also encompass shopping mall operator Intime, as indicated by one of the sources. However, discussions are in the early stages, and Alibaba may opt not to proceed with the sale.
A recent Bloomberg report suggested consideration of selling InTime and reaching out to potential acquirers for its department store arm. As of now, Alibaba, RT-Mart, and Intime have not responded to Reuters’ requests for comments. A spokesperson for Freshippo denied any plans for a sale, declining further comment.
Aligning with Restructuring Amid Regulatory Challenges
This divestment initiative aligns with Alibaba’s broader restructuring efforts and comes amid increased regulatory scrutiny over IPOs in China’s challenging capital markets, affecting startups’ fundraising capabilities.
Jason Yu, Greater China Managing Director of market research firm Kantar Worldpanel, noted that Alibaba’s new management is prioritizing its core domestic e-commerce business, investing in AI, cloud computing, and overseas expansion. The challenges of integrating offline businesses with the online commerce core have influenced this strategic shift.
In March, Alibaba announced plans to split into six units and explore fundraising or listings for most of them. The logistics arm Cainiao filed a Hong Kong listing application in September. Freshippo, the Chinese supermarket chain launched in 2015 with over 300 stores in 28 cities, was considering a Hong Kong listing in 2022 but postponed it to assess market conditions.