Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Investment » What’s behind Alibaba’s split into six parts

    What’s behind Alibaba’s split into six parts

    Alibaba Group is planning to split into six units and explore fundraisings or listings for most of them.
    By Agency Staff29 March 2023
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Alibaba’s Jack Ma

    Alibaba Group is planning to split into six units and explore fundraisings or listings for most of them, it said on Tuesday, in a major revamp as China vows to ease a sweeping regulatory crackdown and support its private enterprises.

    The US-listed shares of the Chinese e-commerce conglomerate, which have lost nearly 70% of their value since the curbs were imposed in late 2020, rose more than 10%.

    Alibaba said the biggest restructuring in its 24-year history would see it split into six units: Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics Group, Global Digital Commerce Group and Digital Media and Entertainment Group.

    The revamp comes a day after Alibaba founder Jack Ma returned home from a year-long stay abroad

    The revamp comes a day after Alibaba founder Jack Ma returned home from a year-long stay abroad, a move that dovetailed with Beijing’s effort to spur growth in the private sector after two years of crackdowns.

    Analysts said the breakup could ease scrutiny over the tech giant whose sprawling business has been a target of regulators for years.

    “The original intention and fundamental purpose of this reform is to make our organisation more agile, shorten decision-making links and respond faster,” CEO Daniel Zhang said in a letter to staff. Each business group, he said, had to tackle the rapid changes in the market and each Alibaba employee had to “return to the mindset of an entrepreneur”.

    Zhang will continue as chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, which will follow a holding company management model, and also serve as CEO of Cloud Intelligence Group. Each of the six businesses will have a CEO as well as a board of directors and will retain the flexibility to raise outside capital and seek an initial public offering, the company said.

    Allays concerns

    The exception would be Taobao Tmall Commerce Group that handles China commerce businesses and will remain a wholly owned unit of Alibaba Group. The company would “lighten and thin” its middle and backoffice functions, Zhang said, but did not detail job cuts.

    Investors said the split signals the clearing of regulatory worries and allays concerns that Alibaba had lost the potential to grow. The decision could also be partly a fallout of the US scrutiny of Chinese tech firms that raised national security concerns over TikTok and its parent ByteDance, said Tara Hariharan of emerging market hedge fund NWI Management.

    “By paving the way for Alibaba’s various new units to list, the Chinese government may be signalling less hostility towards its tech giants as a placatory message to US and international investors,” said Hariharan, MD of global macro research.

    The restructuring is among the biggest corporate moves by a major Chinese tech company in recent years, as the industry cowered under tighter regulatory oversight, causing deals to dry up and dampening risk appetite among businesses.

    Lately, authorities have been softening their tone towards the private sector as leaders try to shore up an economy battered by three years of strict Covid-19 curbs. Companies, however, have been hesitant, privately pointing to a lack of new supportive policies and the new regulatory framework.

    China’s new premier, Li Qiang, had recognised Ma’s return to the mainland could help boost business confidence among entrepreneurs and since late last year had begun asking him to come back, five sources with knowledge of the matter said.

    “It does seem something of a coincidence that this is happening just as Ma seems comfortable returning. To me it suggests something that Alibaba has been wanting to do for some time, but has been waiting for the opportunity,” said Stuart Cole, head macro economist at brokerage Equiti Capital.

    Read: BCX secures rights to Alibaba Cloud solutions in South Africa

    The restructuring “does inject an element of flexibility and adaptability into the company, which currently is something of a behemoth,” he said.  — Josh Horwitz, Lavanya Ahire, Tiyashi Datta, Medha Singh and Tom Westbrook, (c) 2023 Reuters

    Get TechCentral’s daily newsletter



    Alibaba Jack Ma
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleUK opts for ‘adaptable’ AI rules, with no single regulator
    Next Article Big renewable energy expansion announced for South Africa

    Related Posts

    China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

    13 June 2025

    Temu hits turbulence

    27 May 2025

    Jack Ma-backed Ant Group touts AI breakthrough using Chinese chips

    24 March 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.