⚠️Alibaba to split into 6 companies⚠️- Pursue IPOs in major shakeup
Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba Group Holding will reorganize
Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba Group Holding will reorganize into six business groups and pursue public listings for five of them, in the most significant governance overhaul since the company was established 24 years ago.
Alibaba is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, internet, and technology. Founded in 1999 by Jack Ma, Alibaba has grown to become one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world, with a market capitalization of over $500 billion.
The company announced the move on Tuesday, a day after founder Jack Ma's surprise return to China following a lengthy stint abroad. The six business groups will focus on sectors such as cloud computing, e-commerce and logistics.
"This transformation will empower all our businesses to become more agile, enhance decision-making, and enable faster responses to market changes," chief executive Daniel Zhang said in a letter to employees.
The six new groups will be: Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Service Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics, Global Digital Commerce Group and Digital Media and Entertainment Group.
Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, the main source of revenue for the e-commerce conglomerate, will be led by Trudy Dai, one of the original members of the company and a student of founder Jack Ma from when he was an English teacher.
Jiang Fan will be the CEO of the Global Digital Commerce Group, which spans the Southeast Asian-focused Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol, Daraz and Alibaba.com.
Each of the groups will be run by its own CEO and board of directors, with the CEOs assuming full responsibility for company performance.
Zhang became acting president of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence after its cloud service suffered what the company described as "the longest large-scale outage in more than a decade" in Hong Kong in late December.
Alibaba's decision to split into six businesses is set to shake up the e-commerce industry, as it will create more competition and choice for consumers. With each business unit focusing on a specific area of the market, consumers can expect to see more innovation and specialization in the products and services that are offered.
T