Alibaba Predicts Strong Sales in a Sign of Strength From China -
By PAUL MOZURJUNE 8, 2017
The Alibaba Group signaled on Thursday that for all the global worries about China’s rising debt
and bloated state industries, its economy still enjoys a strong pillar of support: online shoppers.
During a speech at the conference, Alibaba’s chief financial officer, Maggie Wu, said
that the company expected revenue for the year that will end next March to grow between 45 percent and 49 percent.
Alibaba’s shares, which trade in New York, rose 13 percent on Thursday, continuing a run
that has taken them to their highest levels since the Chinese company raised $25 billion three years ago in what was then the world’s largest initial public offering.
Still, the ranks of China’s online shoppers grew nearly 13 percent last year to a considerable 467
million, according to official statistics, showing the already vast market is still growing.
During her speech, Ms. Wu said the company got about 60 percent of its revenue from its Alimama advertising platform,
which works as an auction site on which Alibaba’s many vendors can bid for advertising space on its sites.
Alibaba and its largest rival, a Chinese games-and-social-media conglomerate called Tencent Holdings, have seen their shares surge over the past year as they report strong profits
that suggest Chinese consumers still have a desire to spend.
