Jack Ma & Alibaba

[GeneChing]

Zen? A Japanese term? :rolleyes:

September 13, 2011, 5:36 PM HKT
Jet Li Ashamed of China’s Soft Power (http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/09/13/jet-li-ashamed-of-chinas-soft-power/)

Chinese leaders aren’t the only ones frustrated with the nation’s lack of “soft power” influence–Jet Li is, too, and he wants to do something about it.

The Chinese martial artist-turned-movie star is starting a taichi school with Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma, which he hopes will break stereotypes of taichi as an art practiced only by old people in parks. Mr. Li said he wants it to one day be as cool to practice taichi as it is watch American movies, watch Japanese animation or study South Korea’s taekwondo.

“China is an economic powerhouse,” Mr. Li said at Alibaba Group’s annual summit for small to medium-sized business owners in Hangzhou. But the world’s most populous country has little cultural influence compared to the U.S., South Korea and Japan, he said.

The actor’s new venture could indeed give a boost to China’s efforts to export its culture, which have involved investments in the billions of dollars but have been criticized as unimaginative. Among Beijing’s recent soft-power plays: an international network of state-sponsored language institutes, a 17-minute long promotional film panned by Chinese Internet users as blatantly propagandistic and a giant advertisement in Times Square showing photos of wealthy and successful Chinese people who most Americans don’t recognize.

Mr. Li, who has starred in major movies on both sides of the Pacific including the 2002 Zhang Yimou epic “Hero,” lamented that Hollywood and other cultural industries make up a significant portion of GDP in the U.S. but represent only a fraction of China’s economy. “Italian coffee is better than Starbucks,” but consumers around the world recognize Starbucks more than Italian coffee “because it’s a cultural experience,” he said.

He did not disclose financial details of his partnership with Mr. Ma, but said the company will be called Taichi Zen International Culture Company.

For China not to have a contribution to the rest of the world would be a “pity,” he said. “I feel shame before my ancestors,” he added, saying he wants kids to be proud of their “national culture.”

[GeneChing]

I heard an interesting update on this project at CMAT (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1223051#post1223051). I'm verifying it. If true, there will be follow up.

China Exclusive: Alibaba founder, kung fu star promote Chinese martial art (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-04/13/c_132306013.htm)
English.news.cn 2013-04-13 15:43:07

HANGZHOU, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Jack Ma and action movie star Jet Li have joined hands to promote "taiji," a branch of Chinese martial arts practiced for both fitness and self-defense.

At an entrepreneur exchange activity held Friday night in Beijing, Ma, wearing a flowing kung fu outfit, took the stage and performed taiji. Li also showed up to discuss the benefits of taiji.

Ma and Li established a company called Taiji Zen International two years ago with the aim of spreading the culture of taiji to the world.

The company, located in Xixi National Wetland Park in the city of Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province, will start providing taiji courses to the public in May. It will also start offering online courses in August.

The 48-year-old Ma has been practicing taiji since his college years.

"What I have learned most from taiji is philosophical insight, such as the notion of yin and yang, which is a theory that states that things will develop in opposite directions when they become extreme and that people should learn to be moderate," he said.

Ma has been introducing Alibaba employees to the world of taiji and he has even written a film script with a taiji them.

"Most mainstream sports in China nowadays are imported from abroad. We want to introduce the world to the legacy left by our ancestors and make taiji more fashionable," Li said.

Li said entrepreneurs can be a strong force in spreading traditional culture, adding that the efforts of entrepreneurs in Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have contributed greatly to the worldwide popularity of judo, karate, and taekwondo.

However, Ma and Li have also recognized the difficulty of popularizing taiji among young people, as its slow movements are typically viewed as more suitable for the elderly.

The Alibaba Group has served as an experimental area for Ma and Li to learn how to popularize the martial art. Taiji is part of Alibaba employee training, with about 1,500 employees learning taiji in 2012. The company's 20,000 employees also use taiji as a way to take a break from their daily work.

Galeeva Guzel, a Russian woman who works for Alibaba, said taiji can help people calm down and reduce their stress. Another employee named Xu Weijie said taiji has helped him learn to complain less when he is bothered by other people.

Ma said taiji culture can be applied to corporate management.

"Like a taiji practitioner, a company should learn to control its pace of movement and choose the right time to take action," Ma said.

Li said taiji is not only a way to stay fit, but also a cultural symbol with profound philosophical connotations.

"I don't oppose Chinese people buying foreign brands and driving fancy foreign cars, but I think we should spare some time for traditional culture and remember our Chinese identity," Li said.

[GeneChing]

Who says wushu taiji lacks power? Desks beware! :p

Meanwhile, back on topic:


Jet Li, Jack Ma Open Institution to Teach Zen, Tai Chi (http://english.cri.cn/11354/2013/09/21/2361s788789.htm)
2013-09-21 16:05:24 Xinhua Web Editor: Wang Wei


http://english.cri.cn/mmsource/images/2013/09/21/d0d00074711947e196e666316744586f.jpg
Shadowboxing master Wang Xi'an (L) and his disciples perform at the inauguration ceremony of Taiji Zen, in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 20, 2013. Taiji Zen, a joint venture of Kung Fu star Jet Li (Li Lianjie) and Jack Ma (Ma Yun), founder of Alibaba Group, opened officially in Hangzhou on Friday. The institution will teach students the philosophy of zen and Tai Chi Quan, or shadowboxing. [Photo: Xinhua/Ju Huanzong]


http://english.cri.cn/mmsource/images/2013/09/21/981c5fc0fa6d4cefa373b153908bd103.jpg
Jet Li (Li Lianjie), famous Kung Fu star and founder of the One Foundation, speaks at the inauguration ceremony of Taiji Zen, in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 20, 2013. Taiji Zen, a joint venture of Kung Fu star Jet Li (Li Lianjie) and Jack Ma (Ma Yun), founder of Alibaba Group, opened officially in Hangzhou on Friday. The institution will teach students the philosophy of zen and Tai Chi Quan, or shadowboxing. [Photo: Xinhua/Ju Huanzong]

http://english.cri.cn/mmsource/images/2013/09/21/84fe0cff8a9b4de781a999fd67f00708.jpg
Famous Kung Fu star Jet Li (L) and shadowboxing master Wang Xi'an (R) attend the inauguration of Taiji Zen, in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 20, 2013. Taiji Zen, a joint venture of Kung Fu star Jet Li (Li Lianjie) and Jack Ma (Ma Yun), founder of Alibaba Group, opened officially in Hangzhou on Friday. The institution will teach students the philosophy of zen and Tai Chi Quan, or shadowboxing. [Photo: Xinhua/Ju Huanzong]

[GeneChing]

Jack Ma: remember me first as a tai chi master (http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20131216000008&cid=1502)
Staff Reporter
2013-12-16
08:55 (GMT+8)

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/newsphoto/2013-12-16/450/C510X0328H_2013%E8%B3%87%E6%96%99%E7%85%A7%E7%89%8 7_N71_copy1.JPG
Jet Li, left, and Jack Ma. (Photo/Xinhua)

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/newsphoto/2013-12-16/250/C920X0230H_2013%E8%B3%87%E6%96%99%E7%85%A7%E7%89%8 7_N71_copy1.JPG
Jet Li, left, and Wang Xian, right, attending the opening ceremony of the Tai Chi Zen institution in Hangzhou, September. (Photo/Xinhua)

Jack Ma, chairman of China's leading e-commerce company Alibaba, is an avid practitioner of the Chinese internal martial art tai chi. He claims to be an apprentice of tai chi master Wang Xian and has included the martial art into company training and recruitment programs, reports the Chinese-language Henan Business Daily.

The business tycoon could not even resist pushing tai chi when signing a deal with the Henan government in November for the Cainiao Network Technology, an online logistic network for retailers. While inking the deal, Ma appeared in black cloth shoes and a traditional Mandarin shirt. He looked more like to a martial artist than a businessman.

Wang is the one of the representative masters of the Chen-style tai chi chuan, which originates from the village of Chen in Henan province. In early 2009, Ma asked his assistant to find the best tai chi master in the country after practicing the martial art in Hangzhou for some time. The assistant found Wang and invited the tai chi master to Ma's holiday villa in Sanya in 2009. Ma learned tai chi from Wang for four days and officially become Wang's apprentice after taking his third lesson around October in the same year.

Both of them are too busy to arrange regular lessons. Whenever both of them are available they spend four to five days together. Wang instructs Ma for two two-hour sessions, one in the morning and afternoon.

Ma has encouraged other business magnates, such as Wang Zhongjun, chairman of Shenzhen-listed film company Huayi Brothers Media, and Shen Guojun, the current chairman of Beijing-based China Yintai Holdings, to learn tai chi. He brought them to Chen village for a tai chi 'pilgrimage.'

Ma has incorporated the health practice into company routine to alleviate workplace stress by opening tai chi classes. Around 400 employees attended the first round of tai chi classes in Hanzhou's Chengxi and Bingjiang district. Other senior Alibaba officials joined in the second round. Ma hired five Chen-style tai chi practitioners who won national contests in 2011 to teach weekly at Alibaba.

Alibaba's new employees are required to perform tai chi forms during their performance evaluations, which play a role in deciding their future at the company, said Wang's assistant Yan. Tai chi lessons are held regularly and those who miss lessons have to make them up on Saturday.

No matter what other people or the outside world does, people should focus on doing what they have set out to do, and doing it well, said Ma. He wants to find a way to be calmer and slower in an increasingly restless society.

Ma's vision is that one day people can remember him as a tai chi master foremost, rather than solely as the founder of China's largest internet company and online shopping website, said Ma's assistant.

Ma has backed his ambitions with the founding of a company called Tai Chi Zen, which he promoted with kung fu star Jet Li in Hangzhou in April 2011. The two and Wang have been taking turns teaching tai chi at Alibaba's tai chi institution in Hangzhou every month since May this year.

References:
Jack Ma　　馬雲
Wang Xian　　王西安
Chen-style Tai Chi Chuan　　陳氏太極拳
Jet Li　　李連杰
Tai Chi Zen　　太極禪
Anyone working with this program yet?

[GeneChing]

Fascinating. There's some more intriguing links on the site.


Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Takes Center Stage Ahead of IPO (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303417104579541412151111486)
Charismatic Executive Chairman of Chinese E-commerce Giant Is Sometimes Described as Alibaba's Spiritual Leader
By Paul Mozur And Juro Osawa
Updated May 5, 2014 7:28 a.m. ET

Jack Ma started China's Internet giant Alibaba from his apartment in Hangzhou. Porter Erisman, a former Alibaba employee, shares an insider's look at Ma's rise to the top.

Last May, 40,000 Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. employees and customers met at a Hangzhou soccer stadium in driving rain to watch Jack Ma step down as chief executive of the Chinese e-commerce giant he founded in his apartment 15 years ago.

Before his valedictory speech, Mr. Ma belted out the Chinese pop song "I Love You, China," from the stage. The crowd roared.

"Taking over from Jack Ma is a difficult job," he said, dressed in oversize glasses and a shiny silver jacket.

The three-hour extravaganza was a testament to the central role the 49-year-old Mr. Ma played—and continues to play—in what is arguably the world's biggest e-commerce company. Some employees describe the charismatic Mr. Ma as Alibaba's spiritual leader.

As Alibaba prepares to submit its first major filings as early as this week in what could be one of the largest initial public offerings in U.S. history, Mr. Ma—now executive chairman—still looms large in the company's dealings. (Explore how to define Alibaba in an interactive and see a timeline of Alibaba's rise.)

"I thought it would be easier when I stepped down from CEO, but now I'm finding out being a chairman, if you want to be a good chairman, is much busier than being a CEO," Mr. Ma told The Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Ma's success has given him celebrity status in China, where bookstore shelves stock his biographies and airports replay clips of his motivational speeches on business management.

Alibaba, the largest e-commerce company in the world's most populous country, dwarfs its U.S. counterparts. In 2013, the combined transaction volume of its Taobao e-commerce marketplace and another Alibaba-run shopping site called Tmall reached $240 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the figure. That is triple the size of eBay Inc., EBAY -1.65% more than double the size of Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -2.74% Alipay, Alibaba's online payment platform, last year handled more than triple the amount of mobile payments processed by PayPal.

Even after the expected multibillion-dollar IPO, Alibaba's corporate structure will allow Mr. Ma, who owns about 7% of the company, to have a say in nominating more than half of its board. Mr. Ma also owns 46% of the holding company that controls Alipay.

Mr. Ma has been at the center of Alibaba's efforts to expand beyond e-commerce. Vehicles in which Mr. Ma owns a stake have invested in Chinese finance and media companies—in at least one case using loans from Alibaba.

Such deals may raise questions about whether Mr. Ma would ever prioritize his own investments over the interest of Alibaba shareholders, said Paul McKenzie, an analyst at Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA. Mr. Ma didn't comment on his investments.

Even though he is no longer CEO, Mr. Ma remains the face of Alibaba. As the e-commerce company expands further into financial services, Mr. Ma has traded barbs with some of China's big banks.

In an interview with the state-run People's Daily last year, Mr. Ma said China's banks aren't lending to the country's small businesses: "I see there are 80% of the clients that are not covered."

At a conference last month, China Minsheng Bank Corp. 600016.SH -0.52% Chairman Dong Wenbiao defended the current banking system and questioned Alibaba's financial ambitions. "I said to Jack Ma, 'Give up your reform efforts. You don't have the ability,' " Mr. Dong said.

When Alibaba celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Taobao shopping site, founder Jack Ma took the stage to sing in front of 40,000 employees and customers at a Hangzhou stadium.

Mr. Ma was born in Hangzhou, a city of 2.4 million people near Shanghai. His parents were performers of a traditional Chinese musical theater called pingtan. He came of age during China's economic flowering in the 1980s, learning English while an unpaid tour guide to foreign visitors.

After twice failing China's national university entrance exam, Mr. Ma was accepted to Hangzhou Teacher's Institute and graduated in 1988. As the economy improved in the early 1990s, Mr. Ma began looking beyond teaching for work in business. He has said he was rejected for a number of jobs, including as a manager at a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

During a 1995 trip to Seattle as a translator for a trade delegation, Mr. Ma went online for the first time. When he saw how scant information was about China, he set out to create his own company. That year, Mr. Ma started China Pages, an online directory of Chinese companies; Alibaba followed in 1999.

Colleagues say Mr. Ma—who is married with a son and daughter—loves performing. At Alibaba's annual "Alifest" conferences for customers and media, Mr. Ma has in past years shared the stage with former President Bill Clinton, Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Mr. Ma has "that ability, even in a room of 600 people, to make people think [he is] talking to one person, to you," said Duncan Clark, a longtime acquaintance and tech consultant based in Beijing.

Mr. Ma's eccentric performances and his ability to motivate a crowd have helped build a cultlike following among Alibaba employees. At the company's Hangzhou headquarters, Mr. Ma has blessed hundreds of newlywed Alibaba employees in wedding attire during an annual ritual.

Mr. Ma's decisiveness and his willingness to take big risks helped the company overcome challenges, colleagues said.

When eBay Inc. entered China in 2002 by teaming up with a local shopping site, Mr. Ma developed Taobao to compete head-on with the U.S. company.

"Jack said that the best defense is offense," said Joe Tsai, Alibaba's executive vice chairman.

Mr. Ma also decided that Taobao should let merchants sell without paying listing or transaction fees, even though his first website—Alibaba.com—was barely breaking even. The no-fee model allowed Taobao to attract sellers quickly, and the business soon overtook eBay's Chinese market. Taobao later figured out ways to generate revenue through advertising.

In 2009, when the global financial crisis hit small Chinese merchants who were using Alibaba.com to find overseas buyers, company executives—including David Wei, Alibaba.com's then CEO—proposed cutting fees by as much as half.

"Jack said if merchants disappear there will be no Alibaba," Mr. Wei recalled. "Jack didn't even think for a second."

Cutting fees helped Alibaba.com weather the financial crisis and led to a jump in users, pushing up its net profit by 45% in 2010 over 2009.

Although Mr. Ma started Alibaba with little background in business or technology, he knew enough to pick the right people.

Several months after he launched Alibaba, Mr. Ma hired Mr. Tsai, a Taiwanese-born, Yale-educated lawyer. Mr. Tsai has played a central role in Alibaba's fundraising and acquisitions, from the first $5 million investment by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS +0.23% in 1999 to the widely anticipated U.S. IPO.

Current and former colleagues say Mr. Ma makes decisions with gut instinct.

In late 2004, when Alibaba decided to launch Alipay, Mr. Ma flew to Guangzhou to visit Jonathan Lu, Alibaba's current chief executive, who was then the head of a regional sales team.

Mr. Lu recalled Mr. Ma asking whether he knew anything about Alipay, or about PayPal. When Mr. Lu replied that he didn't, Mr. Ma responded, "Good. You are in charge of Alipay," Mr. Lu recalled.

Corrections and Amplifications

Alipay was separated from Alibaba in August 2010. An earlier version of this article contained a different text-only timeline that said Alipay and Alibaba were separated in May 2011.

[GeneChing]

Alibaba's sponsorship of this project has such intriguing potential.



11:53 am ET
May 26, 2014 ALIBABA
Jet Li: From Shaolin Temple to Hollywood to Alibaba (http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/05/26/from-shaolin-temple-to-hollywood-to-alibaba/)
By JURO OSAWA

http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-CY605_jetli0_D_20140527084530.jpg
Jet Li at press conference in Shanghai on April 16, 2014. Zuma Press
After appearing in a series of Hollywood movies, Chinese film star Jet Li is adding a new role to his resume: a board director at a film and TV production business that will soon become a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding.

Li’s nomination to the film company’s board is part of Alibaba’s plans to expand into China’s growing movie industry through its acquisition of ChinaVision Media Group1060.HK -1.62%.

Alibaba, which is preparing to go public in New York in what could be one of the largest initial public offerings in U.S. history, said in March that it would buy a 60% stake in Hong Kong-listed ChinaVision for about $804 million.

In its recent filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange, ChinaVision said that it would change its name to Alibaba Pictures Group once its shareholders approve the acquisition at a meeting in June. The company also said that Li, whose Hollywood film career has included such titles as Lethal Weapon 4 and Romeo Must Die, would join its board as an independent director.

Other than more publicity Li could help generate, it still isn’t clear what specific roles he might play as a director. Li, whose Chinese name is Li Lianjie, has appeared in Hong Kong martial arts films that became well-known internationally, such as Shaolin Temple and Once Upon a Time in China, before moving on to Hollywood in the late 1990s.

Apart from Li, three Alibaba executives will also join the board of Alibaba Pictures, according to the filing. ChinaVision said that Alibaba’s ability to analyze mountains of information collected from hundreds of millions of users would be useful when the movie production business tries to develop more customized films and TV shows tailored for certain audiences. Access to Alibaba’s vast Internet customer base would also provide new films and TV shows with broader marketing and distribution channels, ChinaVision said.

Since the beginning of this year, Alibaba has been trying to expand into entertainment and digital-media industries through acquisitions and newly developed services such as mobile games, as part of its attempt to make its e-commerce and other platforms more attractive.

After announcing the ChinaVision deal, Alibaba in April registered a company in Hong Kong under the name Alibaba Films Group. Later in the month, it changed the name to Alibaba Pictures Group.

[GeneChing]

Jack Ma is the most intriguing development in Chinese martial arts since the Beijing Olympics (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?39275-2008-Beijing-Olympics).

The Alibaba culture: kung fu commerce with a dash of theater (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/08/us-alibaba-culture-idUSKBN0EJ01820140608)
By Paul Carsten and Stephen Aldred
BEIJING/HONG KONG Sat Jun 7, 2014 10:34pm EDT

http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20140608&t=2&i=903799800&w=580&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=LYNXMPEA5700V

A woman stands next to a door inside the headquarters of Alibaba in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, April 23, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Chance Chan

(Reuters) - When Jack Ma and his colleagues sat down in 2001 to lay out Alibaba's defining values, they named them after a martial arts technique drawn from Ma's love of kung fu novels and their heroic themes.

But the corporate culture of China's biggest e-commerce company also draws heavily from Western values in a mix of East and West that Ma dubbed 'Hupan culture' after the apartment block in Hangzhou where he set up his business.

These core values, now named the 'Six Vein Spirit Sword' - customer first, teamwork, embrace change, integrity, passion and commitment - shaped Alibaba Group Holding, which began as an online bulletin board for companies in Ma's Hupan Huayuan apartment complex in eastern China.

Alibaba's aspirations helped it grow from just 18 employees to more than 20,000 today. Along the way, it knocked eBay Inc out of China and is now preparing for a U.S. stock listing that could be the biggest tech IPO to date.

But its romanticism - and even cultishness - has sometimes sidelined the business reality, almost bankrupting Alibaba in its early years and more recently denying Ma his preferred Hong Kong stock listing.

"Alibaba is not like a Chinese company, it's a blend of the good parts of East and West," said Andrew Teoh, a former Alibaba executive and founder and managing partner at Ameba Capital. "It's grown huge, but they maintain a start-up culture. Alibaba is a flat structure, bureaucracy is a pet hate there."

Crucial to this was Savio Kwan, a former General Electric executive, who lifted from the U.S. conglomerate's playbook to introduce a reward system that was new to China at the time. Half an employee's annual appraisal was to be based on their performance. The other half depended on how well they embodied Alibaba's core 'kung fu' values.

"We wanted to make sure that even in a company of 10,000 people it had this Hupan culture, a start-up culture," said Porter Erisman, a former vice president at Alibaba and director of "Crocodile in the Yangtze", a documentary on Alibaba's first decade. "We didn't want to lose the sense of innovation and teamwork, so those were the systems Savio helped introduce."

Kwan, who joined Alibaba as chief operating officer in 2001 and left the company in 2012, did not respond to e-mail and phone requests for comment.

REBELS AND RELIGION

From day one, Alibaba lacked nothing in ambition.

"Our core mission was, and is still, to make it easy to do business anywhere," Joe Tsai, Alibaba's executive vice chair, told Reuters in March. "The mission ... is our religion."

Armed with that quasi-religious fervor, Alibaba grew from a simple business-to-business website hooking up overseas companies with their Chinese suppliers.

"Savio came and said he would change us from a rough bunch of rebels into a regular army," recalls Li Zhiguo, a former Alibaba employee and now CEO of accounting site Wacai.com.

By 2003, Alibaba began work on its first major departure from business-to-business e-commerce. Ma summoned a small group of employees, giving them the option to carry on with their normal work or sign a document and begin a secret project, said Shou Yuan, a former employee who took that second option.

The group gathered in the original Alibaba apartment to create Taobao, the consumer-to-consumer e-commerce site that was launched in 2003 and faced off against eBay, which that year bought rival Chinese site EachNet for $180 million.

At 4 p.m. every day, the Taobao project group would break from work to swim, do handstands and play video games. "We were just a group of country bumpkins, and our competitor was eBay," Shou recalled.

By 2006, eBay effectively conceded defeat, shutting down its EachNet site. Today, Alibaba dwarfs its U.S. rival, with the Chinese group's estimated value of around $150 billion more than double that of eBay, and the goods traded over its sites are worth more than eBay's and Amazon.com Inc's combined.

Driven by Ma's force of personality, Alibaba was able to tilt at windmills, said Duncan Clark, managing director of Beijing-based tech advisory BDA and a former consultant for Alibaba. "He likes to win. They're the company that humbled eBay in China."

PUTTING THE CULT IN CULTURE

Alibaba goes a long way to embracing its employees.

Days after the company filed for its U.S. IPO last month, Ma presided over the company's ninth corporate mass wedding, blessing 102 couples who performed "wedding rituals of ancient times" clad in traditional scarlet and black robes from a 2,000 year-old Chinese dynasty, state media reported.

The company's annual 'Alifest' is now a stadium-sized event, packed with tens of thousands of employees, families and friends, where workers sing, dance and perform skits. In one act, Ma sported a red and black leather punk rock costume with a long bleached white wig and oversized mohawk to serenade Joe Tsai, Alibaba's financial mastermind.

Workers sometimes become known by their stage names. One employee was called 'cunzhang', or 'village chief', after he performed sketches as the bumbling head of a rural village.

All of which has prompted some, including those close to the company, to say it's 'cultish'.

"I really loved Alibaba, but others weren't able to make sense of it, they didn't know if I was mad," said Shou, one of the Taobao creators.

CLOSE TO THE EDGE

Yet Alibaba's romanticized notion of itself and its aspirations have sometimes worked against it.

From 2000 to 2001, Alibaba's confidence had seen it expand too rapidly. Having almost burned through its money just after the dotcom bubble burst, the company was close to bankruptcy. Senior managers targeted potential investors, pitching a vision of a global network of small- and medium-sized enterprises doing business - with Alibaba as the middle-man.

"More than a handful of Silicon Valley venture capital firms turned down Alibaba for investment," said David Chao, co-founder and general partner of venture capital firm DCM. "The whole industry went through a nuclear winter after the Internet bubble popped. It was a period where people were just not betting on models that weren't making money or companies that didn't have a clear business model."

Alibaba was forced to strip down its business, getting rid of international staff and focusing on building a core market in China - a strategy it dubbed 'Back 2 China' or 'B2C'.

More recently, Alibaba's emphasis on its values has trumped more practical goals. The company was denied entry on to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after Ma refused to budge on Alibaba's controversial partnership structure that would see an unelected group of 28 people nominate board members. Hong Kong authorities insisted this violated its one-share-one-vote policy, and kept its doors closed to an IPO.

Alibaba's weighty U.S. listing prospectus mentioned the company's culture and values more than 30 times.

"If we are not able to maintain our culture, or if our culture fails to deliver the long-term results we expect to achieve, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected," it said.

(Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

[GeneChing]

I really wonder how invested he is in this with everything else that must go on with him being China's richest.

Alibaba's Jack Ma named China's richest person (http://shanghaiist.com/2014/08/29/jack-ma-chinas-richest-person.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/katienelson/jack-ma-richest.jpg

And now in news that surprises no one, Jack Ma was named China’s richest person, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.

At 49 years old and with a net worth of over 21.8 billion USD, the chairman and founder of Alibaba Group Ltd shows no signs of relinquishing the title any time soon. Ma is not just raking in the Chinese reminbi, he’s open for US dollars as well—Alibaba has plans to enter US markets with what could be the largest initial public offering in America’s history.

His fat wallet beat out Ma Huateng, owner of Tencent, by 5.5 billion dollars and Robin Li, owner of Baidu, by 6 billion dollars.

One can only assume Ma’s billions come directly from Taobao, Alibaba’s black hole of goods and services, thanks to sales of Picasso paintings and outer space vacations.

By Briel Waxman

[Image via ChinaFile]
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Shanghaiist in News on Aug 29, 2014 4:00 PM

[GeneChing]

17 September 2014 Last updated at 19:03 ET
Can Alibaba's kung fu culture floor its global rivals? (http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29011649)
By Lucy Hooker Business reporter, BBC News

Alibaba's charismatic founder Jack Ma is arguably China's richest man

The Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba, is expected to raise over $25bn (£15bn) in its forthcoming initial public offering. So what will it do with the money?

Will it buckle down against fierce competition at home, or will it set its sights on international rivals Amazon and eBay?

China's vast shopping malls have been quieter recently. Fewer shoppers are braving the traffic and the smog to browse the handbags, electronics, scarves and socks.

And those that do frequently cast a glance at their phones or slip on a pair of shoes, admire the fit, but take home only a mental note of the make and size.

As elsewhere, China's retail sector has undergone an e-commerce revolution.

But in China just one name dominates: Alibaba, whose sprawling web of companies has enveloped the market, accounting for more than three-quarters of all internet sales.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/77645000/jpg/_77645702_77645701.jpg
Alibaba celebrated its 15th anniversary this year

It has a finger in every pie: acting as a marketplace for small businesses, a shop front for imported goods, and a convenient online wallet to settle these transactions.

More recently it's added banking services, cloud computing and instant messaging. It has stakes in a film company and a football club.

But that may not be enough to satisfy Jack Ma.

"In the past decade, we measured ourselves by how much we changed China. In the future, we will be judged by how much progress we bring to the world," he wrote in an open letter as he launched the company's pitch to investors.

So with an extra $25bn in his pocket will Jack Ma now go global with his peculiar brand of quirkiness and fearlessness?

Leftover treasure

Alibaba does already operate internationally. Its bewildering array of platforms means it is able to deliver anything from cheap Chinese car parts to American consumers to fresh New Zealand oysters to China's increasingly wealthy middle classes.

But so far the company has only a minimal presence within foreign markets.

Julia Zhu, the founder of Observer Solutions, a China e-commerce research and advisory firm, thinks even a $25bn war chest is unlikely to change that dramatically.

"They need those funds to continue to grow their empire in China," she says. "All that requires a lot of investment and the competition in China is fierce."

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/77648000/jpg/_77648084_77648083.jpg
Jack Ma says e-commerce in the US is "the dessert", supplementary to retailers' main business, but in China e-commerce is "the main course"

Plus the prospects in China are tantalising. Only around half of China's 1.3 billion population is online.

Marketing analysts, eMarketer, predict China's retail market will overtake the size of the US market by 2017. And the number of those shopping via computers and smartphones is increasingly rapidly.

Alibaba's newest service, online savings accounts, launched under the name Yu'E Bao or "Leftover Treasure", has proved so popular that Beijing has put a break on its growth for fear it will undermine China's traditional banks.

And Jack Ma is contemplating the potential of big data analytics.

China is clearly still rife with possibilities.

'Crocodile in the Yangtze'

Porter Erisman worked at Alibaba during its first eight years, watching as it chased rival eBay out of China in 2006.

Something Jack Ma said at the time convinced Mr Erisman that Ma would play the long game and not strike out immediately for US shores.

"EBay may be a shark in the ocean but I am a crocodile in the Yangtze," Ma said. "If we fight in the ocean, we lose, but if we fight in the river, we win."

But eventually he will want to set his sights back out to sea, says Mr Erisman, who has directed a film charting the firm's early years, called Crocodile in the Yangtze.

"He has global ambitions. I think they know they can win the China market, but over the long term there are no bounds to the company's ambitions."
Chinese 'ecosystem'

"China is 10 years ahead in e-commerce," says Vincent Digonnet, chairman for the Asia-Pacific region at the digital marketing agency Razorfish. He thinks Western internet companies should brace themselves for a battle with a new style of e-commerce.

"In the US when you look at the design of a site it's still very much a transactional site, there's not a lot of consumer-generated content or ability to feedback.

"In China it's the opposite. It's an incredibly social place. It's a place where you discover brands, where you engage with people."

Mr Digonnet believes Jack Ma's "internet ecosystem" will eventually dominate.

"I don't think he needs cash in order to grow his position in China," he says.

"I think he'll inject it into a company in the West. I think he's got his model in his head and I think he's going to replicate his model."

Main street online

Alibaba has already established a beachhead in the American market.

This summer 11Main was launched. It is owned by Alibaba but is managed by Americans and feels like a local shopping experience.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/77404000/jpg/_77404736_11main.jpg
Alibaba's new website is an all-American affair

Jack Ma has also invested in several US companies - ride-sharing service Lyft, sports merchandise site Fanatics, search engine Quixey, messaging app Tango, and mobile gaming company Kabam.

Some see these forays into the US tech sector as Alibaba's first steps in a campaign to become a global online marketplace.

Kung fu culture

Perhaps the only doubts that linger are cultural: whether the company philosophy, incorporating handstands in the office and kung fu nicknames for staff, will stand Alibaba in good stead to take on the big corporations of the West.

Jack Ma has fostered tremendous company loyalty: employees turn out en masse each Chinese New Year to watch executives perform pop songs, dressed in wigs and costumes at the annual Alifest.

And the company hosts regular mass weddings of employees, all of which has earned it a reputation as being outlandish, even cultish.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/77453000/jpg/_77453791_jackmarock.jpg
A penchant for dressing up and singing has earned Alibaba's executives a reputation for outlandishness

But Vincent Digonnet says that behind the slightly crazy facade the company remains agile and ambitious.

He says if he were a Western internet retailer he would now be feeling scared.

"I think Amazon and eBay and all these people who tend to poo poo anything that doesn't come from their own market should be a bit less arrogant and a bit more worried."


I keep dreaming that Jack Ma will someday subsidize Kung Fu Tai Chi. It would be a tiny drop in the Alibaba bucket.


There are two embedded vids if you follow the link.

[GeneChing]

He's even made some of the comedy news reports.



Alibaba's Jack Ma more popular online than movie star Jet Li (http://news.investors.com/technology-click/092414-718800-baba-jack-ma-among-top-chinese-microbloggers.htm)
By DOUG TSURUOKA
Posted 09/24/2014 04:56 PM ET

You may not be surprised to hear that Alibaba's (NYSE:BABA) chairman and founder Jack Ma is China's richest man. But did you know he's also one of that country's top social media bloggers, with 15.8 million followers on Sina Weibo, the dominant microblogging website?

Ma, who owns a stake in Sina Weibo, has more people checking out his blog posts than does China's cinematic superstar and investor Jet Li, who boasts only 13.4 million on the rival Tencent Weibo microblogging platform. But kung fu artist Li is No. 1 on Tencent Weibo.

Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo are Chinese versions of Twitter (NYSE:TWTR). Sina Weibo is run by Chinese online media giant Sina (NASDAQ:SINA).

http://www.investors.com/image/Click01-0925-Getty_345.jpg.cms
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 23: Executive Chairman of the Alibaba Group Jack Ma speaks during the 'Valuing What Matters' panal discussion during the... View Enlarged Image

Ma's social media ranking was included in a report by Shanghai-based magazine publisher Hurun Research Institute , which yesterday also anointed Ma as mainland China's richest man with an estimated worth of $25 billion. The Hurun China Rich List, which enjoys Forbes list status in China, says its reckoning of Ma's personal fortune is based on Ma's 6% stake in Alibaba Group and his 46% holding in AliPay, China's PayPal, following Alibaba's record-size IPO on the NYSE last week.

While some show biz types in China can boast tens of millions more Weibo followers than Ma (Actress Yao Chen has over 70 million on Weibo), the support enjoyed by the top placers on the Hurun Rich list underscores the huge impact the mega rich are having on Chinese society.

Oddly enough, Ma was only No. 2 on Sina Weibo's ranking of rich individuals with the largest social media followings in China. The top dog was real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi, who beat Ma with 17 million followers on Sina Weibo. Pan also has 9.3 million followers on Tencent Weibo, making him China's undisputed affluent social media king with 26.3 million total followers. Pan is the co-founder and executive chairman of Beijing-based Soho China, the nation's biggest prime office real-estate developer.

Why does a Chinese real estate billionaire count more social media followers than Ma or Jet Li?

Well, for one thing, youngish 50-year-old Pan is not only a successful businessman, he's also an opinion leader in China. He speaks frequently at global and regional economic confabs. Like Ma, Pan's amassed quite a following in China among up-and-coming entrepreneurs and wannabes. You could call him China's Donald Trump.

Mercurial Ma is likewise quite an opinion shaper. He's quick to publicly share his thoughts on just about any subject from soccer and living in Hong Kong to saving the world's shark population from the ravages of shark-fin soup.

Five of the top 10 in the Hurun Rich list for this year are in the information technology industry. In addition to Ma, Tencent chief Pony Ma Huateng is No. 5 with an estimated wealth of $18.1 billion. Search powerhouse Baidu's (NASDAQ:BIDU) Chairman and CEO Robin Li Yanhong and wife Melissa Ma Dongmin are sixth with $17.5 billion in personal wealth. Richard Liu, the CEO of e-commerce contender JD.com (NASDAQ:JD), is No. 9 with $8.8 billion. Smartphone maker Xiaomi Technology's chief Lei Jun is tenth with a fortune of $7.5 billion.

[GeneChing]

Jack Ma might deserve his own thread someday soon. I'd put him on our cover too. ;)


http://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/jack-ma-lede1.jpg

Jack Ma, The Capitalist (http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-runner-up-jack-ma/)
The Alibaba founder combined an entrepreneur’s ambition with political savvy in China to pull off the biggest Wall Street debut in history
Dec. 8, 2014
By Rana Foroohar

When the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange rang out on Sept. 19, it marked the biggest IPO the world had ever seen — bigger than Facebook’s or General Motors’. This new Wall Street juggernaut, based 7,000 miles away in Hangzhou, China, is Alibaba. Its founder and chairman, 50-year-old Jack Ma, is now challenging some of the most powerful companies on the Internet, including Amazon, eBay and PayPal. And he is doing so by melding Western entrepreneurship with a canny—and sometimes controversial—sense of how to profit in the world’s most populous nation.

As with so many Chinese enterprises, comprehending the enormity of Ma’s creation requires thinking on a different scale. Alibaba is used by more than a third of China—some 500 million people—making it easily one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. Those customers come to Alibaba to shop in the electronic malls it operates, where some 8.5 million merchants, large and small, ply their goods.

Increasingly, Chinese pay for those goods—and conduct all kinds of other transactions—using Alipay, a PayPal-like service affiliated with Alibaba that is now one of China’s most important financial entities. In fiscal year 2014, Alibaba generated $8.5 billion in revenue, nearly half of it profit. And Alibaba’s $25 billion IPO made Ma one of the world’s wealthiest individuals.

But even those figures obscure the significance of Alibaba’s rise and the extent to which it has been propelled by Ma’s deft understanding of how to do business in his homeland. Since it began in 1999 by linking Chinese manufacturers with foreign and domestic buyers, Alibaba has played a crucial role in China’s digital opening to the West. Having previously worked in the Ministry of Trade, Ma was able to ensure support from the Communist Party government and take on bigger competitors in China’s private sector. His innovations were not just technical but also diplomatic and strategic.

Like many Chinese, Ma comes from almost nothing: he is the son of traditional storytelling performers who taught himself English by tagging alongside tourists at a local hotel. Later he became a teacher and traveled to the U.S. Searching the World Wide Web for information on Chinese beer and coming up dry, he vowed to bring China online, at a time when only 1% of the population was on the web.

A few years later, Ma started Alibaba in his apartment with 17 friends. His first employee was his wife, who now looks after the couple’s two children. Zhang Yin has claimed that she fell for Ma despite his unexceptional looks because he had the capacity to do things other men couldn’t. Friends have also been drawn to that ambition. “Jack had the biggest dreams of anyone I’ve ever known,” says Porter Erisman, an American adman who left his job at Ogilvy & Mather in Beijing to work for Ma early on. “You’d come up with a goal, and he’d immediately ask you to triple it.”

A consummate spinner of corporate narrative, Ma is full of Shaolin-monk-style sound bites. “eBay is a shark in the ocean. We are a crocodile in the Yangtze,” he famously proclaimed. “If we fight in the ocean, we will lose. But if we fight in the river, we will win.” Ma claims to base his management technique on Chinese martial-arts teachings, encouraging employees to adopt nicknames from kung fu novels. (His own, Feng Qingyang, is a nod to an aggressive master swordsman.)

Like the best martial artists, he is capable of turning weakness into strength. In the years before Alibaba went public, for instance, Ma leveraged his freedom from Wall Street pressure on quarterly earnings to keep his site free for a long time, building market share. Obliged to show shareholders progress on profit margins, eBay watched as Alibaba scooped up business.

Ma became more enmeshed with Silicon Valley in 2005. That’s when Yahoo, run by founder Jerry Yang at the time, decided to buy a large stake in Alibaba for $1 billion. Yang, who first met Ma at the Trade Ministry, told Time that he remembered him as “highly curious about the Internet industry and obviously very entrepreneurially minded.” Yahoo wanted a piece of Alibaba because of its market position in China, but also because of Ma.


The marriage fell apart, though, as Ma tangled with Yahoo’s new management. As Alibaba’s market share took off, it became clear that he’d given away too much of his company for far too little. “If he had waited even a year, Jack would have gotten a lot more,” says Gary Rieschel, a venture capitalist who ran the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank’s investments in Asia outside of Japan, including Alibaba, from 2000 to 2009. He eventually gathered together a group including local princeling investors close to the party elite to buy out half of Yahoo’s stake.

Those relationships are a reminder that Ma couldn’t have produced his achievements without Beijing’s approval. His ties to the party apparatus are a key advantage over foreign rivals, which don’t compete on the same playing field in China’s closed Internet ecosystem. Alibaba operates not only in retail but also in heavily state-dominated and -protected areas like finance. (When Alibaba started offering money-market accounts, $90 billion poured in.)

That’s good not only for Ma and Alibaba but also for the Communist Party. China has come under increasing criticism for its closed financial sector, which holds the private savings of citizens in state-owned banks at minuscule interest levels, then taps that money for state-run projects—many of which have floundered as China’s growth has slowed. Allowing someone like Ma to offer even a slightly better interest rate without real reform helps placate ordinary citizens in a nation where the ruling elite is mindful of the potential for social unrest.

Yet Ma’s skill in co-opting government support has exacted a price, particularly as he seeks both capital and customers on a global stage. He came under media fire, for example, for a 2013 interview with the South China Morning Post in which he appeared to suggest that the government’s actions in the 1989 Tiananmen massacre were justified. Ma’s media representative says the reporting was incorrect and the journalist “misunderstood” his statement. Ma has also said he thought a controversial decision a decade ago by Yahoo to turn over personal information about a Chinese journalist to the Chinese government was justified because “local laws must be obeyed.”

Those forays into seemingly authoritarian views—and a circumscribed approach to shareholder rights—set him apart from some of his counterparts in Silicon Valley. “The thing you have to remember about Jack Ma is that he is a proxy for a certain set of party interests. If the ruling cadres in Beijing didn’t want Alibaba to exist, it wouldn’t,” says Anne Stevenson-Yang, a co-founder of J Capital Research, an independent financial-research firm specializing in China.

Apart from the issue of Alibaba’s independence from Beijing, a more fundamental question looms: Can Ma replicate his Chinese success elsewhere? While it’s unlikely that many Americans or Europeans will do their Christmas shopping on one of Alibaba’s websites anytime soon, Ma is almost certain to use some of his cash hoard to start acquiring Western media and entertainment properties.

Alibaba will also try to grab the dominant market position in other emerging economies like Brazil, India and Russia. Back in China, Alibaba is planning to launch a Chinese version of Netflix and has announced expansions into consumer credit, insurance and mobile apps.

That puts Hangzhou’s homegrown giant in competition with basically all the U.S. Internet heavyweights. Ma says he want to build not an empire but rather an ecosystem, which is less likely to be toppled. Either way, he isn’t looking to bide his time or hide his brilliance, as an old Deng Xiaoping proverb recommends.

[GeneChing]

With all of that bank, and being such a Kung Fu fan, I wonder if he's subscribed (http://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html).


Jack Ma Becomes Asia’s Richest Person on Alibaba Surge (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-11/jack-ma-becomes-asia-s-richest-person-on-alibaba-surge.html)
By Zijing Wu and Sterling Wong Dec 12, 2014 4:17 AM PT

Jack Ma has become the richest person in Asia.

The 50-year-old founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA), China’s biggest e-commerce company, passed Li Ka-shing, the Hong Kong property and ports tycoon who has held the top spot in the region since April 5, 2012, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

“I am nothing but happy when young people from China do well,” Li, 86, said by his spokeswoman in Hong Kong. A spokesman at Alibaba declined to comment on Ma’s net worth.

Ma, a former English teacher who started the Hangzhou, China-based company in his apartment in 1999, has added $25 billion to his fortune this year, riding a 54 percent surge in the company’s shares since its September initial public offering. He has a $28.6 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg ranking. Li has a net worth of $28.3 billion.

“The billionaires in China are growing their wealth faster because China’s economy is still developing, with plenty of room for growth,” said Francis Ying, an analyst at Yuanta Research. “Hong Kong is already a mature market.”

Alibaba’s $259 billion market capitalization makes it larger than Amazon.com Inc. and EBay Inc. combined, and more valuable than all but eight companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

http://www.bloomberg.com/image/i9ABK7LHBz9o.jpg
Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg
Billionaire Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

More than half of Ma’s wealth comes from his 6.3 percent stake of Alibaba, valued at $16.3 billion. He also controls almost half of the closely held finance unit and owner of Alipay, a service similar to PayPal.
Public Offering

Ma’s interest in the online-payment company is expected to dilute in the next three to five years with new investors or stock distribution to employees. Ma won’t realize any economic benefit from the dilution, Alibaba has said.

Alibaba raised a record $25 billion in its Sept. 18 IPO, selling shares for $68 each. The American depositary receipts rose 1.05 percent to $104.97 at the close in New York.

“If you look at the whole Chinese Internet space as a group, it’s definitely getting very significant,” said Tony Chu, a money manager for RS Investment, which oversees about $22.3 billion. Alibaba has become “a global stock which you cannot ignore,” he said.

The fortune of Hong Kong’s Li, who controls Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. (1), one of the world’s three biggest property developers, has fallen $1.9 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg ranking. While shares of the real estate company gained this year, some of his other investments, including Husky Energy Inc., have dropped.

Plastic Flowers

The billionaire started with a plastic flower factory that he opened after World War II. He began investing in Hong Kong’s property market in 1967, after riots from China’s Cultural Revolution depressed prices and has expanded his investments to include real estate, ports and telecommunications.

Li is nicknamed “Superman” by the local media for his investing prowess. He forecast in 2007 that China’s stock-market bubble would burst and predicted in 2009 the rally in Hong Kong home prices that would follow.

Ma, who became China’s richest person in August, said being the wealthiest in the world’s second-largest economy “is a great pain” in a CNBC interview aired on Nov. 11.

“I never thought I’d be and I don’t want to be,” he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Zijing Wu in Hong Kong at zwu17@bloomberg.net; Sterling Wong in Singapore at swong470@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Newcomb at pnewcomb2@bloomberg.net Robert LaFranco

[GeneChing]

I feel this author missed the point. This is the point. (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?64871-In-China-Women-Train-to-Become-Bodyguards-for-Billionaires)


Monday, 29 December 2014 14:40
Wealthy Chinese pay thru their nose for KUNG-FU experts to be their bodyguards (http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=430431:wealthy-chinese-pay-thru-their-nose-for-kung-fu-experts-to-be-their-bodyguards&Itemid=4#.VKGHZv88AA)


BEIJING - Increased security concerns among China's nouveau riche have created a niche market for protection services, attracting more martial-arts practitioners to become bodyguards.

Seen close to Jack Ma - the Chinese mainland's richest man - at a series of recent events was a man of average build in his 30s and with brush-cut hair.

Li Tianjin, Mr Ma's security assistant or personal bodyguard, stood out among the billionaire's entourage with his composed presence, watching every move made by his employer, the founder and chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.

Mr Li, a national martial-arts champion, is from Chenjiagou in Wen county, Henan province, the widely recognised birthplace of taiji.

Wang Zhanjun, vice-chairman of the Henan Martial Arts Association, said Mr Li won his first national title at the Wen County International Tai Chi Tournament in 1998.

He was loyal to friends and trained very hard every day, Mr Wang added.

http://news.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/styles/full_left_image-630x411/public/original_images/Oct2014/20141028_jackma_reuters.jpg?itok=WdQ2gFd5

Mr Li's appointment highlights the growing demand from China's entrepreneurs and celebrities for well-trained bodyguards with martial-arts backgrounds, as well as training in etiquette and secretarial abilities.

Shi Xingfeng, founder and chief executive of the Bojing Security Agency in Beijing, told China Daily on Friday: "Demand for protective specialists is soaring, with customers increasingly sensing the need to protect their lives and property against unknown risks.

"Despite this market demand, the talent pool remains small," Mr Shi said.

The Bojing Security Agency was founded by Mr Shi in 2009, and is one of the earliest commercial security-service providers approved by China's Public Security Department.

The country has 358 billionaires, second only to the United States, and their ranks are expected to grow rapidly in the next decade.

Mr Ma topped this year's Hurun Rich List with net assets of more than US$24 billion (S$32 billion).

Boasting practical combat skills, martial artists like Mr Li need to develop many other skills - including hostage rescue, technical driving and outdoor survival - through intense physical and theoretical training, Mr Shi said.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/news_images/highres/2007-9-9-tichi57214944.jpg

"Professional security assistants are not trained to knock people down for their employers like illegal hatchet men, but to master skills and knowledge to prevent threats from happening," he said.

Despite the risky nature of the job, the salary has attracted an increasing number of martial artists to work for wealthy clients.

Qin Xianggang, a former student of Mr Wang, earned at least 8,000 yuan a month five years ago, when he started work as a security assistant for a real-estate tycoon in Qingdao, Shandong province.

"This was twice as much as a martial-arts coach was paid at that time. The salary for bodyguards has also increased a lot over the years," Mr Qin said.

According to Mr Shi, the average salary for a professional security assistant has risen to about 400,000 yuan (S$85,000) a year, with specially trained bodyguards earning even more.

http://theoutlook.com.ua/uploads/user/%D1%81%D0%B0%D1%88%D0%B0%20%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8 2%D1%8F%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%BE%20%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0% BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8/%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%8F%D0%B1%D1%80%D1%8C/Shaolin-summary_2377899k%20(1).jpg
- Asiaone



I also feel Mr. Shi is grousing because he didn't get the job.

I posted more on Li Tianjin here (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68340-Tai-Chi-Bodyguards).

[GeneChing]

Honestly, I haven't been tracking this story. A U.S. rep from it did contact me and said he would follow up but never did.

Maybe Jack is going to be a painter next.


Jack Ma sells his first painting for a cool $5.4 million at auction (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/10/06/jack_ma_now_a_painter.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/jack_ma_painting.jpg

In an art sale at Sotheby in Hong Kong on Sunday a painting by Alibaba Group founder and all-around Renaissance Man Jack Ma sold for the surprising sum of HK$42.2 million (US$5.4 million).

Ma was helped along by veteran Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi. Together the two painted a blue, green and white piece of oil-on-canvas representing Earth entitled "Paradise." The artists coated and dotted the canvas with paint, before using palette knives to scrape the surface.

"This is the first time I've painted, and to have been able to do it with Fanzhi -- I am deeply honored," Ma wrote in the auction catalog. "Together, we created an earth: to protect the earth, to protect the oceans, to protect the air, to protect water."

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/jack_ma_painting2.jpg

The buyer was Chinese business tycoon and philanthropist Fenglei Qian. The original high estimate for the work was HK$2.5 million, but 30 bids later it was sold for nearly seventeen times that amount. The proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Paradise International Foundation, a charity dedicated to environmental conservation.

This isn't Ma's first foray into philanthropy, he was ranked second in the 2015 Global Chinese Philanthropy list after only Li Ka-shing.

After this first success, we'll see if Ma still holds on to his day job.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Alex Linder in News on Oct 6, 2015 6:45 PM

[MightyB]

Honestly, I haven't been tracking this story. A U.S. rep from it did contact me and said he would follow up but never did.

Maybe Jack is going to be a painter next.

"In an art sale at Sotheby in Hong Kong on Sunday a painting by Alibaba Group founder and all-around Renaissance Man Jack Ma sold for the surprising sum of HK$42.2 million (US$5.4 million)."

Man...

When it rains, it pours for some people.

If you want to have a fascinating look into the craziness of the art world and see how a person like Jack Ma can fetch a cool $5.4 mill for not really doing anything, watch "Exit Through the Gift shop" on Netflix. It's sad, because there are some truly talented people who've dedicated their whole life to art (and create their own work) that can't even pay their rent by selling their work.

[GeneChing]

Good ol' Jack Ma. I'm hoping in his charitable ventures, he'll help fund our magazine someday. ;)


Chinese Billionaire Buys 28K Acres of American Forest to Preserve It (http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/chinese-billionaire-buys-28k-acres-of-american-forest-to-preserve-it/)
Photo of the Dayby Terry Turner - Dec 11, 2015

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Brandon-Reserve-screenshot-LandVest-Vimeo.jpg
Brandon Reserve screenshot LandVest Vimeo

The Chinese billionaire behind online shopping giant Alibaba has placed an order for 28,000 acres of pristine, American wilderness – in a $28 million dollar bid to preserve wildlife, fish, and forests in the rugged mountains of the Northeast.

Jack Ma, China’s richest man and a noted conservationist, plans to turn the Brandon Reserve in New York’s Adirondack Mountains into a wildlife sanctuary and protect its timber and water from logging and mining operations in the region.

His first action as owner is to stop the logging operations already going on there.

Ma’s purchase includes land along nine miles of the Saint Regis River, a trout fishery, multiple homes and barns, and even its own maple syrup operation.

(WATCH the video from LandVest below to see the property or READ more at Town and Country) — Photos: LandVest, Vimeo

https://vimeo.com/106188437

[GeneChing]

Crouching Jack And His Hidden Dragons (http://inc42.com/buzz/crouching-jack-and-his-hidden-dragons/)
Team Inc42
March 22, 2016 10 min read

http://cdn.inc42.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Jack-ma.jpg

Jack Ma, the founder of China’s largest ecommerce company Alibaba, is neither a Harvard nor a Stanford graduate. He was actually rejected by Harvard, 10 times. He is just street smart, and it has worked wonders for him. At least, so far. Slowly and carefully, he has been making his move towards India, like a tiger who is waiting for the right moment to pounce on its prey.

And it seems, he has just made the big leap. Alibaba, the NYSE listed online retailer who debuted with the world’s biggest ever IPO, has announced its entry into India. But, how he will execute this plan is not yet known.

The country’s domestic ecommerce marketplace is already dominated by homegrown biggies like Flipkart and Snapdeal, along with a strong presence of US-based Amazon.

Also, the Assocham report states that the Indian ecommerce market is poised to be worth $38 Bn by the end of 2016, which leaves a surfeit of opportunities for the etailers in this segment.

Hence, it is a good time and chance for Alibaba to mark its entry in the B2C ecommerce segment, although, it has been trying to enter the Indian consumer market for a long time. In May 2015, Alibaba had reportedly tied up with Paytm to add about 1 Mn merchants from China on Paytm’s platform, along with adding 100 million SKUs. But it seems that the deal did not strike off. Though the Chinese ecommerce firm could not establish itself in the B2C space, it has been operating in the B2B ecommerce business since 2009, after it entered into a strategic partnership with Infomedia. Its B2B division is said to have over 4.5 Mn sellers on board in the country.

In one of his statements, Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group, had said that


India is a crucial market and Alibaba must have a strategy to crack it

Enter – The Dragon

Last week, Alibaba Group president Michael Evans and global managing director K Guru Gowrappan met Communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Tata Group’s Chairman Cyrus Mistry to share their plans for the company’s interest in India and a possible partnership.

“It is a positive announcement for the Indian market. It is a validation that India is a high potential market. The negative impact is that there will be competition pressure, but overall it is good news,” says Brijesh Agrawal, co- founder of IndiaMART. IndiaMART competes with Alibaba in the B2B category.

A senior government official told ET,


Alibaba is very keen on coming to India in a very big way, particularly in the ecommerce sector. They’re only exploring the way whether to go on their own or set up shop with someone else.

The ecommerce market in India is much ripe and ready to accommodate as many players as possible. Goldman Sachs projects that India’s online retail market will expand to $36 Bn in 2016-17, which has emerged as a significant battlefield for the world’s largest ecommerce companies.

As per Morgan Stanley, electronics and fashion are the dominant categories in India and the online penetration in these two categories is set to increase from 3-5% in 2014 to 25-30% in 2020, resulting in an online market of $88 Bn. Therefore, analysts expect that the online shopper penetration will increase by 20% in 2017. That can surely be a turning point for ecommerce in India.

The Upper Cut

At present, Alibaba has a sourcing business in India and does not sell anything directly to customers. It holds 40% stake in Paytm and 5% stake in Snapdeal. And if the Chinese ecommerce firm enters India in tie-ups with such ecommerce companies, the sector would see a battle between Amazon and the rest. Also, as we see that Alibaba has reportedly approached the Tata Group to venture into the online retail market, there is a big partnership awaited in the ecommerce segment.

“Alibaba is familiar with India. They are not late. They have their inherent strengths and a good backend. The only issue in the B2C segment for them is that whether consumers will see it as “China ka maal (product of China)”. That does not go well with the Indian consumer,” says Prof. Pradeep Pendse, Dean of e-business at Welingkar Institute of Management.

Also, as the news for Alibaba to enter the Indian retail market brims, it is being speculated that Paytm may spin off its marketplace business and allow Alibaba to organically expand in India.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm refutes any such development. In a call with Inc42, Vijay says, “We (at Paytm) are committed to growth and we are here not to sell.” He did not comment on Alibaba’s India entry.

Industry watchers also point out to a possible buyout of Flipkart by Alibaba.

“It is a bonanza for Flipkart. I feel Alibaba is going to buy out Flipkart. For, Alibaba to run on its own will be difficult and it has deep pockets to buy out a big player who is already well entrenched,” says Prof. Kaustubh Dhargalkar of Welingkar Institute of Management.

When Jack Ma visited India last year, he gave a clear indication that they would enter India’s online retail market by tying up with B2C players in the ecommerce segment. During the same time, the Chinese ecommerce giant reportedly entered into a strategic tie-up with Paytm, enabling cross-platform business.

However, if Alibaba plans to enter India on its own, like Amazon, then we are bound to see a fierce battle amongst domestic players like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm and Shopclues fighting against the US and Chinese ecommerce biggies.

“This could be a bluff. If they threaten that they will come alone, they may be able to buy a big player out for a cheaper deal,” says an industry insider who requested anonymity.

It should be noted here that currently India does not allow FDI in B2C ecommerce segment while it allows 100% FDI in B2B ecommerce portals, 51% FDI in multi-brand B2B segment and 100% FDI in single brand retail.

Does It Mean That Alibaba Will Leverage Its B2B Business To Establish Its Presence In The B2C Ecommerce?

On the other side, Alibaba has its own wallet, Alipay, and its own logistics unit, Aliexpress, which gives it an edge to establish itself on its own similar. This would mean that Alibaba will operate as Amazon works in India operating on an online marketplace model, which even has no FDI restrictions.

“They have their own people, payment gateway, and most importantly their B2B business. The current ecommerce players are highly priced. So, they can come on their own, too,” says Arvind Singhal, Chairman and Managing Director of Technopak, a consultancy firm.

A Ringside View

Flipkart has raised $1.7 Bn capital to date and looks to speed up its funding in order to dodge its competitors. Flipkart was valued at $15 Bn after it raised $700 Mn in 2015. But, in February 2016, Morgan Stanley marked down the value of Flipkart’s shares by 27%, bringing down the company’s valuation to around $11 Bn.

While Snapdeal has raised about $1.54 Bn and is valued at somewhere between $6.5-$7 Bn after it raised about $200 Mn in February 2016.

On the other side, Alibaba is well funded with over $7.9 Bn to manage its entire business. In 2014, Alibaba raised $21.8 Bn, which was the biggest US IPO ever, which puts the company in a stronger position to take on its rivals in the country. continued next post

[GeneChing]

Who Dares, Wins

Seeing Amazon steadily overtaking the ecommerce market in India, Amazon will be a strong contender in the ecommerce run. When Amazon entered the Indian market in 2014 under a marketplace model, it had expected good sales from the beginning. But, it took Amazon almost two years to assess the Indian market, and now it has managed to be one among the top players. It has invested about $300 Mn (INR 1,980 Cr.) and $190 Mn (INR 1,237 Cr.), in Amazon Seller Services, in February 2016 and October 2015 respectively to have a strong seller base in order to cater to a wider network of consumers. It has further committed $2 Bn investment making India its largest market outside the US.

The company had even planned for a $5 Bn (INR 31,700 Cr) warchest for India. It is also in the race to digital wallet services. It is said to have applied for a semi-closed wallet license with the RBI.

It this is not enough to measure Amazon’s increasing strength in the country then we can also note that Amazon has not been raising any funds to survive, unlike its counterparts.

But What About The Indian Govt And Its Policies?

“Alibaba will have a hell to pay for if they try to come alone. If you remember the Huawei – Airtel issue, it will be tough for a Chinese player to operate in the country on its own.There are data and privacy issues involved,” says Vivek Srinivasan, co- founder of Prudence Advisors.

Talking about Flipkart and Snapdeal, who are still not ready for a public listing, are in desperate need of funds. Flipkart borrowed $67 Mn (INR 450 Cr) from HDFC Bank in lieu of not able to raised funds soon. It was valued at $15 Bn after it raised $700 Mn in 2015. But, in February 2016, Morgan Stanley marked down the value of Flipkart’s shares by 27%, bringing down the company’s valuation to around $11 Bn. While, Snapdeal, which has raised about $1.54 Bn till date, is valued between $6.5-$7 Bn, after it raising about $200 Mn in February 2016.

However, the three of them are not yet profitable in the Indian terrain. Snapdeal has reported a loss of INR 1,328 Cr., Flipkart reported a loss of about INR 2,000 Cr and Amazon India reported a total loss of INR 31.7 Cr., in FY 14-15.

eBay, on the other hand, is the oldest player in India in which entered India in 2004. But it has not managed to establish itself as a strong player.

If these existing players are compared to Alibaba, only Amazon seems to be a tough competitor. Alibaba is well stuffed with over $7.9 Bn fund to manage its entire business. In 2014, Alibaba raised $21.8 Bn, which was the biggest US IPO ever, which puts the company in a stronger position to take on its rivals in the country.

The time may be right. The market is well equipped and Alibaba will have the ‘second mover advantage.’ But, there will be stiff competition from its US rival Amazon. M&A options are wide open for Alibaba if it needs a little help from Jack Ma’s Indian friends- Snapdeal or Paytm. The coming days will see Indian market playing out to be a battleground for Amazon and Alibaba. Well, if Jack has to win-it-all, he should better have a few tricks up his sleeve.

[With inputs from Dearton Hector Thomas]

Now that TaijiZen is defunct, perhaps I should split the Jack Ma posts off into their own indie thread...

[GeneChing]

Alibaba’s Jack Ma: Better-Than-Ever Fakes Worsen Piracy War (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-14/alibaba-s-ma-fake-goods-today-are-better-than-the-real-thing)
David Ramli
Lulu Yilun Chen
June 13, 2016 — 10:03 PM PDT Updated on June 14, 2016 — 12:09 AM PDT

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Photographer: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. founder Jack Ma said Chinese-made counterfeit goods today have gotten better than the genuine article, complicating the effort to root out fakes on the country’s largest online shopping services.

Global brands have long relied on China and other low-cost manufacturing bases to beef up margins. But those same factories have gotten savvier over the years and are now using the Internet -- including Alibaba’s platforms -- to sell their own products straight to consumers, Ma told the company’s investor conference on Tuesday. Still, Alibaba is the best in the world at fighting the sale of counterfeits, he added.
“The problem is that the fake products today, they make better quality, better prices than the real products, the real names,” Ma said in Hangzhou, China. “It’s not the fake products that destroy them, it’s the new business models.”
“The exact factories, the exact raw materials, but they do not use their names.”

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/i8M3JUiwwW1Q/v2/-1x-1.jpg
Jack Ma. Photographer: VCG via Getty Images

Failing to clean up online bazaars like Taobao could alienate merchants and shoppers abroad, particularly at a time when Alibaba is drawing scrutiny from both investors and international brands over its reputation as a haven for knock-offs. Its membership in the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, a nonprofit global organization that fights counterfeit products and piracy, was suspended in May after questions were raised about conflicts of interest involving the coalition’s president. That’s after its inclusion in the group irked some members who said the company wasn’t going far enough to cull fakes from its marketplaces.
Right or wrong, Ma’s comments on the caliber of counterfeits may not sit well with those trying to tackle an endemic problem that’s tarred China’s image abroad.
“It’s inappropriate for a person of Jack Ma’s status to say something like this,” said Cao Lei, director of the China E-Commerce Research Center in Hangzhou. “For some individual cases what he’s saying might be true, but it’s wrong to generalize the phenomenon.”
Ma wants to get more than half the company’s revenue from outside China within a decade and a cooling domestic economy makes the fight against counterfeiters more pressing.
Alibaba pleaded its case to hundreds of members of the IACC that it has the data, technology and desire to help keep fake brands off its online marketplaces. Its collaboration with Chinese law enforcement in 2015 resulted in the arrest of 300 people, the destruction of 46 places where counterfeits are made and the confiscation of $125 million worth of products, President Michael Evans told the group in May.
“We would love to work with the branded companies,” Ma said, adding that the company had around 2,000 staff working on the problem. “We cannot solve the problem 100 percent because it’s fighting against human instinct. But we can solve the problem better than any government, any organizations, any people in the world.”
Alibaba handles more e-commerce than Amazon and eBay combined. It expects to reach 423 million online shoppers around the world this year, mostly through its Tmall.com and Taobao Marketplace sites. It aims to have 2 billion consumers by 2036 and double gross merchandise volume to 6 trillion yuan ($911 billion) by fiscal 2020.
“Alibaba has a remarkable amount of big data at their disposal and I believe there are many triggers which could help them identify fakes better than they are doing at present,” said Mark Tanner, managing director of the China Skinny, a research firm in Shanghai. Those included price variances, reviews, and selling patterns, he said.
While battling the immediate problem, Ma is also keeping an eye on the longer term. Ma said his goal of reaching 2 billion users would require more success in rural China, which he estimated had 700 million people. While there is merit in calls for expansion in Malaysia, Indonesia and India, Ma said the domestic approach would be more successful because his company understood the local market better.
And he already has an eye to posterity, telling investors that over 90 percent of key company meetings, decisions and events have been recorded on video to be analyzed by future generations studying Alibaba.

I dunno about that. All of the fake Chinese knock-offs I have ever received fall apart pretty quickly. I'll agree that they are cheaper.

THREADS
Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
Chinese Counterfeits, Fakes & Knock-Offs (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57980-Chinese-Counterfeits-Fakes-amp-Knock-Offs)

[GeneChing]

Most of the posts above were poached from the Jet Li's TaijiZen International Cultural Development Company (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65314-Jet-Li-s-TaijiZen-International-Cultural-Development-Company) thread


China's Alibaba Pictures Launches $300M Investment Fund (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-alibaba-pictures-launches-fund-914161)
7:09 AM PDT 7/25/2016 by Patrick Brzeski

http://cdn5.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2015/02/ap497593344555.jpg
AP Images/Invision

Jack Ma's fledgling film studio has invested in several high-profile Hollywood projects, including 'Star Trek Beyond' and 'Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation.'
Alibaba Pictures Group has unveiled a new $300 million investment fund targeting the entertainment industry.

Alibaba Pictures, the film studio unit of Jack Ma's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, is partnering with Wuhu Gopher Asset Management on the fund, which will be called the Hainan Alibaba Pictures Entertainment Industry Investment Fund.

In a statement released Monday, the two partners said they would make "investments in companies along the value chain of the movie and television entertainment industry, creating synergies with Alibaba Pictures’ own capital."

Alibaba Pictures will contribute a maximum of $75 million to the fund, with the remaining $225 million coming from Wuhu Gopher. The partners said the fund will focus on investment opportunities in high-quality film and TV companies falling under four key categories: "production development, celebrity resources, marketing and distribution and advanced technology." The partners did not specify whether the fund would exclusively target Chinese investments, or if international films and firms might be on its hit list.

“In recent years, the Chinese entertainment industry, which has mainly been driven by movies, has undergone rapid development," said Zhang Qiang, CEO of Alibaba Pictures. "Bountiful investment opportunities and immense room for integration have emerged both upstream and downstream of the industry value chain.”

Alibaba Pictures, which is listed on both the Singapore and Hong Kong stock exchanges, describes its core business segments as content production, Internet-based promotion and distribution, entertainment e-commerce and international operations. The studio has yet to release a film of its own, but it has three Chinese projects in varying stages of production: Ferry Man, Three Lives Three Worlds Ten Miles of Peach Blossom and Ao Jiao Yu Pian Jian.

It has also invested in high-profile Hollywood projects, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Star Trek Beyond and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Alibaba Pictures is also moving into U.S.-China co-productions with a partnership with Skydance Media to finance and co-produce the WWII film Flying Tigers, which will be scripted by Braveheart writer Randall Wallace.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68299-Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-2-Out-of-the-Shadows)
Star Trek Beyond (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68329-Star-Trek-Beyond-(ST3))
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68128-MIssion-Impossible-5)
Flying Tigers (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising&p=1046214#post1046214)

[GeneChing]

...who'd a thunk the the Chicoms plan for world domination was going to be through movie theaters?


Alibaba Pictures to Build Its Own Cinemas (http://variety.com/2016/biz/asia/alibaba-pictures-to-build-cinemas-1201840072/)
Patrick Frater
Asia Bureau Chief

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/alibaba-pictures-full-logo1.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1
COURTESY OF ALIBABA
AUGUST 18, 2016 | 04:45AM PT

Alibaba Pictures Group is planning a move into the construction and operation of cinemas in China.

The company is the movies arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and has its own share listings in Hong Kong and Singapore.

“APG has set up a team in charge of this (cinema) business and the team is already operational,” an Alibaba Pictures spokesman told Variety by email.

Local media reports have pointed to a construction project in the giant inland city of Chongqing as one of APG’s first sites.

In May this year APG agreed to invest $154 million in the convertible bonds of Dadi Cinema Construction, one of China’s top three circuits. But aside from the Dadi investment, APG is currently more focused as a technology-driven film financier, distributor and marketing player.

The downstream move into exhibition comes at a time when box office growth in China has suddenly slowed and cinemas suffered three successive months of lower sales. But this and other huge bets such as Wanda Cinema Line’s recent commitment to buy 150 additional IMAX screens, suggest that Chinese companies are confident that the theatrical business will recover its poise.

Many more cinemas are coming on stream. At the end of 2015 China had 31,600 cinema screens in operation. By the end of this year the total is expected to be close to 40,000, putting it roughly on a par with the North American screen count – albeit with a population more than four times as large.

At the time of the Dadi deal APG CEO Zhang Qiang said: “Cinemas will play an integral part in Alibaba Pictures’ operations, as the company aims to build an integrated entertainment platform for the film industry. It will not only serve as an important consumption context within the entertainment industry, but also become a core application of internet in the film industry.”

Last month APG said that it was setting up a $300 million (RMB2 billion) investment fund in partnership with Gopher Asset Management. Some of the capital from the new fund could conceivably flow into APG’s cinema unit. The fund’s purposes were spelled out only vaguely: “The investment fund will invest in companies along the value chain of the movie and TV entertainment industry,” APG said in a filing.

[GeneChing]

Aliblin? Amblibaba?


Steven Spielberg's Amblin Pacts With China's Alibaba Pictures Group (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielbergs-amblin-pacts-chinas-936630)
12:02 AM PDT 10/9/2016 by Abid Rahman

http://cdn5.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2016/10/spielberg_ma.jpg
Getty Images
Steven Spielberg (left), Jack Ma

The legendary director joined Alibaba boss Jack Ma at a signing ceremony in Beijing that will see Alibaba Pictures take an equity stake in Amblin.
Amblin Partners and China's Alibaba Pictures Group have entered into a strategic partnership to co-produce and finance films for global and Chinese audiences.

At a glitzy event Sunday in Beijing, attended by Steven Spielberg and Alibaba Group chief Jack Ma, the companies said they also will collaborate on the marketing, distribution and merchandising of Amblin's films in China. Alibaba Pictures also will have the option to co-finance Amblin films worldwide.

Under the terms of the deal, Alibaba Pictures will acquire an unspecified minority equity stake in Amblin with an Alibaba representative joining Amblin's board.

Alibaba Pictures joins India's Reliance, Canda's eOne and Jeff Skoll's Participant Media as equity holders in Amblin Partners, which was established in December.

Joining Ma onstage for an informal talk, Spielberg said that he hoped the partnership would "bring more of America to China, and bring more of China to America."

Ma praised Spielberg's storytelling abilities and how his style resonated with Chinese audiences. "I don’t think there are many differences between East and West — the only difference is that the West is better at telling stories," said Ma, adding that Alibaba Pictures hoped to learn more from Spielberg and Amblin.

Jeff Small, president and co-CEO of Amblin, also was in Beijing for the signing ceremony. Small confirmed the Alibaba deal was the Amblin's first alliance in China and that both companies had been speaking for several months.

Alibaba Pictures president Zhang Wei said that the partnership will begin with the marketing and distribution of the Spielberg-directed The BFG, which is set for release Friday in China.

The fledgling Chinese film studio already has invested in several high-profile Hollywood projects including Star Trek Beyond, Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation and most recently Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

Amblin's upcoming slate of films includes comedy A Dog's Purpose, to be released Jan. 27, and sci-fi adventure film Ready Player One, based on the best-selling book by Ernest Cline and directed by Spielberg. The pic, starring Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg and Tye Sheridan, is slated to hit theaters March 30, 2018.

[GeneChing]

B.F.D. vs. B.F.G. Clever title. ;)


Spielberg Goes Global: Why Amblin's Pact With China's Alibaba Is a B.F.D. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/spielberg-goes-global-why-amblins-937273)
6:15 AM PDT 10/12/2016 by Abid Rahman

http://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2016/10/jack_ma_steven_spielberg_split.jpg
Getty Images
Jack Ma and Steven Spielberg

Jack Ma's Alibaba Group, which announced its minority equity stake in the director's production company at a Oct. 9 signing ceremony in Beijing, will help market 'The BFG' when it releases overseas Oct. 14.
Steven Spielberg has found a kindred spirit in Alibaba Group founder and executive chairman Jack Ma. At the Oct. 9 signing ceremony in Beijing that saw Alibaba Pictures take a minority equity stake in Spielberg's Amblin Partners, China's second-richest man recalled how he always has loved the director's more sentimental work, especially relating to E.T., who "looked like an alien and was also kind."

The "comprehensive strategic partnership" is Amblin's first in China, and Alibaba joins India's Reliance, Canada's eOne and Jeff Skoll's Participant Media as equity holders in the company founded in December as Spielberg's DreamWorks winds down. Amblin's bold move into the world's second-largest movie market gives it not just a way to circumvent China's foreign-movie quota with co-production and co-financing deals but also an opportunity to piggyback on Alibaba's unrivaled online and mobile ecosystem for distribution, marketing and merchandising in the Middle Kingdom. First up: the Spielberg-directed The BFG, which underwhelmed with $55.5 million at the U.S. box office.

"It's good for Spielberg/Amblin as they gain enormous reach into the Chinese consumer market," says MKM Partners analyst Rob Sanderson. "There is potential well beyond cinema distribution and film financing," such as the ability to sell merchandise through Alibaba's marketplaces and release digitally through its social media assets.

Alibaba Pictures has invested aggressively in Hollywood tentpoles in its two-year history, backing Paramount's Star Trek Beyond, Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. But Sanderson believes this new deal is more significant because it gives the studio "exclusive distribution of high-end Hollywood content" and comes with Spielberg's "elite pedigree."

"Alibaba management believes the Chinese consumer has been tremendously underserviced for entertainment options," he adds. "There is a lot of runway to just catch up to what other economies and cultures allocate to entertainment."

[MightyB]

It's back - at least temporarily.

http://www.taijizen.com/en

[GeneChing]

Jack Ma got bank.


Alibaba smashes its own $14.3 billion record in 15 hours, making it the biggest Singles' Day sales ever

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Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson, left, and Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma, center, kicking off Singles Day.IMAGE: AP

BY VICTORIA HO
SINGAPORE
13 HOURS AGO

UPDATE: Nov. 11, 2016, 3:54 p.m. SGT Alibaba has broken last year's sales record for Singles' Day.

China's biggest e-commerce player announced on Friday at 3:20 p.m. that it passed last year's incredible $14.3 billion sales day already.

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IMAGE: ALIBABA

For perspective, America's Cyber Monday sales only netted $2.68 billion last year.

Black Friday saw a further $4.45 billion spent.

The biggest shopping bonanza in China — and in the world, really — started at midnight across Alibaba's online stores such as Taobao and Tmall.

Alibaba threw a huge concert to kick it off, featuring Scarlett Johansson, David Beckham, Kobe Bryant and One Republic.

Just 52 seconds in, Alibaba already cracked 1 billion yuan ($146 million) in sales.

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IMAGE: ALIBABA/SINA

And at the 7 minute mark, it hit its next milestone of 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion). Absolutely mind-boggling.

http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/KskMaZHZ408OKCFyF0TvIyt4eAI=/fit-in/1200x9600/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fima ge%2F281955%2Fbce49ec1eb8d4704afdb5c1b840858e92016 1111003513.jpeg
IMAGE: ALIBABA/SINA

From the morning's trajectory, Alibaba looked like it was well on its way to smashing last year's sale.

By the halfway mark on Friday, its sales had already reached 82.4 billion yuan ($12.1 billion).


84 percent of sales were made on mobile phones.

And if you're imagining people hunched over their computers buying frantically, that's not quite right.

84 percent of Alibaba's sales done on Friday were made via mobile phones — unsurprising, if you take into account Alibaba's stronghold over digital payments.

The internet giant claims to have 400 million registered users of its Alipay payment service.

270 million of those are active each month, using the service for everything from meals at restaurants, to paying street vendors and of course, Singles' Day sales.

[GeneChing]

Alibaba shells out to become top Olympics sponsor until 2028, will help IOC create e-commerce site (http://shanghaiist.com/2017/01/20/alibaba_funds_olympics.php)
BY ALEX LINDER IN NEWS ON JAN 20, 2017 12:40 PM

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/11/jack-ma-thumbs-up.jpg

Chinese online giant Alibaba continues to expand its global footprint, inking a deal yesterday to become a major sponsor for the Olympics until 2028.
In becoming a top sponsor, Alibaba joins an elite group of 12 other international companies such as McDonalds, Panasonic, Visa and Coca-Cola. The privilege will cost them around $800 million over the 12-year span, a source familiar with the deal told Bloomberg.
Alibaba will be tasked with creating a new global e-commerce platform for the Olympics, developing a new Olympic television channel for Chinese viewers and using its cloud platform to to operate the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) digital presence "more efficiently and securely," according to a press release.
Timo Lumme, head of the IOC's TV and marketing division expanded more upon that first task in an interview with Yahoo Finance, stating: "A globally accessible e-commerce platform, which means that somebody in San Francisco can buy Tokyo merchandise, or somebody in Shanghai can buy Team USA merchandise. Alibaba’s going to help us reach those 700 million-plus online consumers in China who are wanting to be able to experience Olympic content on a day-in, day-out fashion.”
The sponsorship deal -- which is the longest signed by any Chinese company -- will of course include the highly-anticipated 2022 Beijing Winter Games, not to mention the 2018 winter Olympics in nearby South Korea's Pyeongchang and the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Specifically, Alibaba will use its cloud platform to run the IOC’s digital presence “more efficiently and securely,” according to a press release; it will create a new global e-commerce platform for the Olympics; and it will help develop the IOC build its new Olympic television channel for a Chinese audience.
Despite its incredible success inside China -- doing $17.8 billion in sales in one day last November -- Alibaba isn't satisfied, searching for opportunities to invest abroad and expand its services to consumers in other countries.
Earlier this month, Alibaba founder and CEO Jack Ma met with US President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, vowing to create 1 million new American jobs in the next 5 years.

2020 Tokyo Olympics (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?64475-2020-Tokyo-Olympics)
2024 Olympics (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68366-2024-Olympics)

[GeneChing]

'Fake' is quickly becoming such an over-used term in English. That being said, I can hardly wrap my brain around this news story. Maybe it's fake news.


In Anti-Piracy Fight, Alibaba Finds Fake Complaints Over Fakes In China (https://www.chinamoneynetwork.com/2017/02/09/in-anti-piracy-fight-alibaba-finds-fake-complaints-over-fakes-in-china)
NINA XIANG
February 9, 2017 — 19:32 HKT

https://www.chinamoneynetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/fakesalibaba.jpg
Alibaba's fight against counterfeits just got a bit trickier

Alibaba's anti-piracy fight just got a bit trickier as the Chinese e-commerce giant finds that companies are making false complaints for "fake products" on its online shopping platforms.

The Hangzhou-headquartered company says that over 20% of the total complaints processed by its Intellectual Property Protection Platform in 2016 were malicious, which means they are either false allegations or they used forged documents, Alibaba said today in a statement.

Trademark squatting, an act of registering other people's marks by squatters in other countries in order to gain benefits from the original marks' owners, is also one tactic used by Chinese companies.

For example, one intellectual property rights agency in Shenzhen used fake documents including the registration of the trademark of Weixin, which is the Chinese name for Tencent's Wechat app, a signature of Tencent chief Pony Ma, and an authorization letter with a Tencent company chop, to file a complaint.

The company asked for the removal of all the listings that offer products or services around Weixin, leading to the removal of hundreds of product listings from dozens of merchants until the false complaint was detected by Alibaba. Tencent reported the case to police afterwards.

In another case, a Chinese company registered a product trademark of Nike that the U.S. company has yet to register in China. The Chinese firm subsequently submitted complaints against all the listings of backpacks with that particular logo on listings including authorized Nike distributors. More than 2,000 listings from hundreds of merchants were deleted erroneously as a result.

https://www.chinamoneynetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/alibaba-4.jpg
(Image credit: Alibaba)

Alibaba says 5,862 accounts on its Intellectual Property Protection Platform, a location where companies can file complaints over fake products, were involved in malicious complaints in 2016. Around 1.03 million merchants and over six million products were victims of schemes that amounted to a total loss of RMB107 million for victims including major brands such as Nike.

In particular, Alibaba boycotted one company called Hangzhou Wangwei Technology Ltd, which was found to abuse the counterfeit notice and takedown system. Over 60% of the company's complaints were voluntarily withdrawn after counter-appeals from merchants since 2015, Alibaba said.

In December 2016, Alibaba found itself on the 2016 Notorious Markets List put out by the United States Trade Representative. The USTR accused Alibaba's Taobao e-commerce platform as having unacceptably high levels of counterfeiting and piracy products.

Alibaba has expanded its anti-privacy programs in recent years, and moved more than 380 million product listings in the 12 months ending August 2016, more than double that of 2015. The company has also helped detect and close around 675 counterfeit operations during that time, and put hundreds of criminal counterfeiters in jail.

THREADS
Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
Chinese Counterfeits, Fakes & Knock-Offs (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57980-Chinese-Counterfeits-Fakes-amp-Knock-Offs)

[GeneChing]

I keep hoping Jack Ma will invest in our magazine (http://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html). It's part of his mission to promote Chinese martial arts. And we won't lose him $139 M.


Alibaba Pictures Lost $139 Million in 2016 (http://www.thewrap.com/alibaba-pictures-lost-139-million-in-2016/)
Chinese entertainment giant attributed much of it to marketing and subsidies for mobile ticket business
Matt Pressberg | March 31, 2017 @ 9:43 AM

http://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/AlibabaGroup.jpg
Getty Images
China’s Alibaba Pictures reported a $139 million net loss for 2016, which it blamed mainly on marketing costs for its online movie ticket subsidiary in a Thursday regulatory filing.

The company reported 1.1 billion yuan (about $160 million in marketing expenses) for 2016, largely related to its online ticketing platform Tao Piao Piao. Last month, Alibaba warned its shareholders that it would report a loss of about this size.

Online ticketing companies have engaged in a price war in China, as operations backed by mega-conglomerates like Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu have battled it out for market share with huge subsidies and other promotions. About 8 in 10 movie tickets in the country are sold via mobile apps. However, those subsidies began to soften toward the second half of last year — as did the Chinese box office.

Alibaba Pictures, which has an office in the Los Angeles area, took a minority stake in Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Pictures in October. Their first release together, “A Dog’s Purpose,” starring “Beauty and the Beast’s” Josh Gad, has reeled in $75.5 million in China — topping the $63.5 million the film has grossed domestically.

Earlier this month, Alibaba Pictures signed a three-year agreement with parent Alibaba Group that gave its streaming service, Youku Tudou, priority in distributing Alibaba Pictures’ films in a deal that bound different parts of the conglomerate closer together as a slowing movie market and strict capital controls have made it more challenging for Chinese film companies to invest abroad.

[GeneChing]

I can't even wrap my head around this. Has there ever been an Asian host for SNL?


Alibaba's Youku to Produce Chinese Version of 'Saturday Night Live' (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/alibabas-youku-produce-chinese-version-saturday-night-live-997607)
1:35 AM PDT 4/26/2017 by Patrick Brzeski

http://cdn2.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2016/11/saturday_night_live_-_episode_1711_-_thanksgiving_special_-_h_-_2016.jpg
Will Heath/NBC
'Saturday Night Live'

But don't expect the Middle Kingdom's answer to Alec Baldwin to be lampooning Chinese president Xi Jinping anytime soon.
"Live from Beijing, it's Saturday night!"

NBCUniversal on Wednesday unveiled a partnership with Chinese streaming video platform Youku, a unit of Alibaba Digital Media & Entertainment Group, which will produce a local version in China of NBC's iconic sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live.

Youku, one of China's leading streaming video services along with Tencent Video and Baidu's iQiyi service, is planning to make SNL its flagship entertainment show for the 2017 fall/winter schedule.

Over the past few years, NBCUniversal has licensed nine other international versions of SNL, in territories ranging from France to the Middle East.

"We're excited to partner with Youku in China, where we are confident SNL will be a big hit with audiences," said Michael Edelstein, president of NBCUniversal International Studios.

Now in its 43rd season, Lorne Michaels' original New York version of Saturday Night Live is enjoying a banner year, with each episode attracting an average of 11 million viewers and U.S. viewership up 29 percent over last year — so far, it's been the show’s best season since 1993-1994.

Much of the ratings comeback probably can be attributed to the presidency of Donald Trump and Alec Baldwin's lampooning of the commander-in-chief, as well as Melissa McCarthy's recurring impersonations of White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

But given China's strong censorship system, it is unlikely that the Youku version of the show will feature a Chinese comedian taking similar shots at Chinese president Xi Jinping anytime soon. Youku and NBCUniversal say the Beijing-based remake will "showcase the best of Chinese culture and comedy."

[GeneChing]

At that rate, no wonder he is one of the world's richest.


Jack Ma teaches tai chi to entrepreneurs for $15,000 (https://www.rt.com/business/389553-jack-ma-taiji-philosophy-course/)
Published time: 24 May, 2017 10:21
https://cdn.rt.com/files/2017.05/original/59253af9c46188b51f8b459f.jpg has launched tai chi philosophy courses for entrepreneurs, reports The Straits Times citing Chinese media.
Alibaba founder teaches six classes over three days a year with the course reportedly costing 100,000 yuan ($14.500).

Ma, a former English teacher has been a long-time fan of martial arts. The billionaire has reportedly been practicing tai chi quan since 1988.

Earlier this month, Jack Ma joined the debate on a defeat of a tai chi master by a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.

The two styles cannot be compared as they operate by different rules, according to the billionaire. Ma stressed that most tai chi practitioners perform the art for exercise, not for real combat.

“Tai chi was invented neither for attack nor defense, but as a movement to illustrate its philosophy. Attack and defense are part of tai chi, but definitely not all of it,” Ma wrote on his account on Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website.

In 2013, Alibaba CEO in cooperation with a Chinese actor Jet Li launched Taiji Zen Online Academy to promote the martial art and associated meditation techniques.

Jack Ma says that tai chi and tai chi quan are different, as the former represents a philosophy and the latter is the martial art itself.

“Tai chi is about how you balance and how you work,” he previously said in an interview with Bloomberg.

“Tai chi is like 'you fight there and I'll go over here. You're at the top, and I'll go down'. It's a balance. You are heavy and I'm small. When I'm small, I can jump. You're heavy. You cannot jump. Tai chi is about a philosophy. I use tai chi philosophy in the business. Calm down. There's always a way out and keep yourself balanced,” Ma said.

[GeneChing]

Alibaba's Jack Ma Gets $2.8 Billion Richer in One Day (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-09/asia-s-richest-man-sees-net-worth-soar-2-8-billion-in-a-day)
by Lulu Yilun Chen
June 8, 2017, 6:11 PM PDT June 9, 2017, 2:26 AM PDT
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma gains on bullish sales outlook
Resultant share rally makes him the world’s 14th wealthiest

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iZy.aP33UKrY/v0/1000x-1.jpg
Jack Ma. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov /Bloomberg

Jack Ma’s net worth surged $2.8 billion overnight as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. forecast sales growth that topped every analyst’s estimate, despite China’s decelerating economy.

Ma, 52, is now the richest person in Asia and 14th wealthiest in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His net worth has climbed $8.5 billion this year to $41.8 billion.

The latest surge came after China’s largest e-commerce company forecast 45 to 49 percent revenue growth in the year ending March, demonstrating how investments beyond online shopping are paying off. Shares in Alibaba, where Ma is chairman, rose 13 percent to a record high.

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iTbRBjluE4mk/v2/800x-1.png

Alibaba and Tencent Holdings Ltd. -- which dominate online shopping and social media, respectively -- have ventured deeper into new areas from cloud computing services to streaming music and video as the country’s economy slows. Alibaba is capturing more digital advertising spending by incorporating social elements such as video in its shopping sites.

Alibaba Adds $42 Billion in Market Cap on Strong Sales Forecast

Alibaba is holding meetings with investors this week. On Friday, the former English teacher said he wasn’t going to discuss corporate forecasts. He took the stage instead to describe how his company had become effectively the world’s 22nd largest economy -- just after Argentina --- in terms of transactions by never fearing to think big. Ma, who said Alibaba revises 10-year plans annually, foresaw the company becoming the fifth-largest eventually by 2036 by serving a burgeoning Chinese middle classes, taking advantage of global trade and making use of its valuable trove of data.

Ma’s comments about the evolution of data-driven technology echoed Masayoshi Son, Chairman of Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. SoftBank -- Alibaba’s largest shareholder -- has invested billions in companies such as ARM Holdings Plc with the intention of staking out a leading position in the future Internet of Things.

“The Internet of Things is gonna be big because in the past, machines drink electricity,” Ma told investors. “In the next 20 years, machines will drink data.”

“In the future, no company, no country, no business can survive without data.”

Now all he needs to do is sponsor Kung Fu Tai Chi (http://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html). Come on Jack. Do it for Tai Chi. You love Tai Chi.

[GeneChing]

China's Alibaba Pictures Pacts With 'Wolf Warrior II' Production Company (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-alibaba-pictures-pacts-wolf-warrior-ii-production-company-1033284)
3:02 AM PDT 8/28/2017 by Patrick Brzeski

http://cdn3.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2017/08/yu_yong_fu_6yue_zai_shang_hai_dian_ying_jie_ti_chu _a_li_ying_ye_zuo_dian_ying_chan_ye_de_xin_ji_chu_ she_shi_.jpg
Alibaba Pictures Group
Alibaba Pictures CEO Fan Luyuan

Jack Ma's film studio says it will work closely with Beijing Culture on film financing, marketing and distribution after the studio's latest release pulled in more than $800 million.

Jack Ma's Alibaba Pictures Group has formed a strategic partnership with Beijing Culture, one of the production companies behind Wolf Warrior II, China's biggest blockbuster of all time.

The partnership was unveiled at a press conference in central Beijing on Friday. The two companies said they would cooperate in areas spanning film financing, promotion and distribution, along with movie merchandising.

Fan Luyuan, Alibaba Pictures' newly appointed CEO, pointed to the partners' recent collaboration on Wolf Warriors II as an example of the scale of success that's possible when Chinese stakeholders work together to get the formula right — while also leveraging the internet prowess of tech giants like Alibaba.

"We want to be part of the infrastructure of China’s movie industry,” Fan said.

Written by, directed by and starring Chinese martial artist Wu Jing, Wolf Warrior II has earned a colossal $810 million in China since its release on July 26. Fan said some 40 percent of all Wolf Warrior II ticket sales were transacted over Alibaba's Taopiaopiao mobile ticketing platform. The service also was used to drive marketing and merchandising offers to filmgoers.

Beijing Culture has been amassing a powerful collection of partners. In April 2016, the company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Anthem and Song, the Chinese studio venture set up by Joe and Anthony Russo, the Hollywood directors of Marvel's Captain America franchise. That tie-up proved especially fruitful for Wolf Warrior II, on which the Russos consulted and provided their usual stunt team, led by veteran stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave (The Avengers, Suicide Squad, The Hunger Games), elevating its action to a Hollywood standard. The Russos also introduced the film's villain, Frank Grillo, to their Chinese partners.

"For China's film industry infrastructure to be improved, we need to work together," said Alibaba's Fan.

Beijing Culture produces and distributes films, television and internet series, as well as runs a talent agency. The studio's next release will be Feng Xiaogang's period drama Youth, written by popular Chinese novelist Yan Geling, out in China on Sept. 30.

I doubt Youth will do as well. But then again, I had no idea Wolf Warriors 2 would do well.

Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba) & Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2)

[GeneChing]

...but he should stick to Tai Chi.

There's a vid of him dancing if you follow the link.


Jack Ma, one of China's richest men, danced on stage to Michael Jackson in front of thousands of employees at a company party (http://www.businessinsider.com/jack-ma-alibaba-dance-michael-jackson-2017-9?r=UK&IR=T)
Alexandra Ma

Yes, that is a billionaire executive dressed in black and gold, thrusting his hips to the sound of Michael Jackson music on stage in front of thousands of his employees.

Jack Ma, the founder and executive chairman of e-commerce company Alibaba, delivered a choreographed performance — complete with backup dancers — at his company's 18th annual celebration in Hangzhou, China last Friday.

Chinese financial news site Yicai Global tweeted a video of the performance on Monday, which can be seen above. Ma dances to a medley featuring clips from "Billie Jean" and "Dangerous."

http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/59b7c432ba785e3ec97fb400-1287/jack%20ma.png
Ma after taking off his mask. Yicai Global/Twitter

Some 40,000 Alibaba employees from various countries attended the lavish event, which consisted of multiple parades and musical performances, China Daily reported.

The video appears to have been filmed at the gymnasium of the Yellow Dragon Stadium in Hangzhou, which has a capacity of 8,000. From the footage, the venue looks about half full.

Ma has much to celebrate: Alibaba's market cap recently passed the $400 million mark — gradually closing its gap with Amazon — and its shares have almost doubled in value since the beginning of this year, Quartz reported.

The company also announced plans to open its first brick-and-mortar mall in Hangzhou next April, echoing what Amazon did in New York last May.

http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/59b7c433ba785e3ec97fb401-2400/gettyimages-814036104.jpg
Ma speaks to his employees in Hangzhou, China. Wang He/Getty

This isn't the first time Ma has entertained his staff.

At Alibaba's 10th anniversary in 2009, for example, Ma — then company CEO — dressed as a punk, donned a white wig, and performed a segment from "The Lion King" (watch the linked video from 1:07 onward). He also took part in a mass wedding for his employees in 2014.

Such performances by powerful Chinese executives may be more common than we think. In 2016, Wang Jianlin, the CEO of real estate conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, has sung solo on stage at his company's annual meeting multiple times.

Ma is currently the second-richest man in China and 23rd richest man in the world, with a net worth of $28.3 billion (£21.3 billion), according to Forbes. Wang is currently the richest man in China.

[GeneChing]

Jack Ma (Alibaba) (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba) & Bodhidharma (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?2128-Bodhidharma)


BODHIDHARMA
Alibaba’s $15 billion global R&D push is named after a legendary Indian monk from centuries ago
(https://qz.com/1101707/alibabas-15-billion-rd-global-push-damo-academy-%E8%BE%BE%E6%91%A9%E9%99%A2-is-named-after-indian-buddhist-monk-bodhidharma/)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/rts1fzy1-e1507877732510.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=3200
Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group, speaks during the Computing Conference in Yunqi Town of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China October 11, 2017.
Think like a Zen master. (Reuters/Stringer)

WRITTEN BY
Zheping Huang
8 hours ago

Earlier this week, China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba announced that the company will invest $15 billion in R&D projects in the next five years and open seven tech labs across the globe—an initiative it’s calling DAMO Academy.
DAMO is a mouthful that stands for “Discovery, Adventure, Momentum, and Outlook,” and highlights Alibaba’s ambition to turn itself into a global tech giant in the same league as the likes of Google and Microsoft. The Chinese name of the R&D push, however, tells something about founder Jack Ma’s obsession with martial arts.

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/bodhidharmayo****oshi1887.jpg
A portrait of Bodhidharma by Japanese artist Tsukioka Yo****oshi. (Public domain)

DAMO is written 达摩 in Chinese. That’s the Chinese name of Dharma, or Bodhidharma, a prince-turned-Buddhist monk from India, who is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Zen Buddhism to China in the 5th century. Zen Buddhism is then said to have inspired the martial arts practiced by the monks in China’s famous Shaolin monastery.
Unveiling the DAMO program in a speech (link in Chinese) to an audience of thousands in Hangzhou, Alibaba’s hometown, Jack Ma said he came up with the name just two weeks ago in a call with the company’s head of human resources. He said DAMO might sound a bit weird—but so is Google and Intel. “The more you read it… the more you’ll like it,” he said.
Ma is a known fan of Chinese martial arts. The 52-year-old earlier this year started giving tai chi classes to fellow entrepreneurs for $15,000 for six sessions. For years, he was also a loyal client of self-proclaimed qigong master Wang Lin—until the latter was charged with murder and later died in custody this February.
At Alibaba, every employee has a nickname for use within the company. And at least at high management levels, these names all come from martial arts fiction. Ma himself is nicknamed Feng Qing Yang, which roughly translate as “the wind blows briskly and lightly.” CEO Daniel Zhang is nicknamed Xiao Yao Zi, which means “free and unfettered man.” Both Feng Qing Yang and Xiao Yao Zi are formidable swordsmen from martial arts novels by Jin Yong.
Dharma also appears in the Jin Yong universe as a legendary figure who created secret kung fu techniques.

[GeneChing]

Alibaba’s Jack Ma stars in short kung fu movie to promote tai chi (http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2117518/alibabas-jack-ma-stars-short-kung-fu-movie-promote-tai-chi)
Jet Li and Donnie Yen also feature in film to be released next month
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 29 October, 2017, 8:50pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 29 October, 2017, 8:50pm
Alice Shen

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2017/10/29/e09222e6-bca6-11e7-affb-32c8d8b6484e_1280x720_205045.jpg

Alibaba founder Jack Ma Yun will make his big-screen debut alongside action stars Jet Li, Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung Kam-bo in a short kung fu movie released next month.
Ma’s appearance was to promote tai chi, a traditional Chinese martial art that Ma has pursued for decades, Alibaba said on Saturday. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
The movie Gong Shou Dao, or The Art of Attack and Defence, will be released on November 11, the date of an online shopping extravaganza known as Singles Day in China.
But Alibaba said the two events were not linked.
Ma assembled the team to realise his decade-long dream of becoming a tai chi master, the company said.
Wu Jing on Wolf Warrior 2’s record-breaking run, his cinematic roots in Hong Kong and Wolf Warrior 3’s story direction
He unveiled the movie’s poster on his microblog account, showing him surrounded by the other stars.
“That night ... that dream,” Ma wrote in the post, without giving details of the plot.
The movie will also feature Wu Jing, whose Wolf Warrior II reset box office records in China.
Other big names in the movie include champion boxer Zou Shiming, Thai actor Tony Jaa, and retired Mongolian sumo champion Asashoryu Akinori.
Along with Jet Li, Ma started a lifestyle company called Taiji Zen offering tai chi courses online.
Ma had also done magic shows and sung Peking Opera.


The Art of Attack and Defence (Gong Shou Dao) (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70541-The-Art-of-Attack-and-Defence-(Gong-Shou-Dao))
Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
TaijiZen (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65314-Jet-Li-s-TaijiZen-International-Cultural-Development-Company)

[GeneChing]

If you have YouKu: http://m.youku.com/video/id_XMzE0ODM1ODg1Ng==.html?sharefrom=iphone&from=timeline&isappinstalled=1&source

if not, here's a YouTube version, but I can't guarantee it won't be shut down soon:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fuD5lEAC3sY

I wanna be Jack Ma.


GSD (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70541-Gong-Shou-Dao-(The-Art-of-Attack-and-Defence))
Jack Ma (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)

[GeneChing]

Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba) uses the Shaolin name as a new brand (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?60316-Brand-Shaolin). Considering Alibaba just made $25B on Single Day (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70558-China-s-Single-Day&p=1305978#post1305978), why not?



V1 Group's "Shaolin" Research Institute Aims to Serve Corporate Development in terms of Cutting-edge Technologies (http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/V1-Group-s-Shaolin-Research-Institute-Aims-to-Serve-Corporate-Development-in-terms-of-Cutting-edge-Technologies-1007863650)
PRESS RELEASE PR Newswire
Nov. 13, 2017, 06:15 AM
HONG KONG, Nov. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- V1 Group Limited ("V1 Group" or the "Group"; Stock code: 82.HK) released its internal research report "Statements and Interpretations on the Digital Economy in China's latest policies". The report defines the digital economy, traces its history of development, predicts its developmental trends and outlook, and probes into its relationship with traditional industries.

At the Alibaba Cloud Workshop held on October 11, 2017, CTO Jeff Zhang announced Alibaba was launching a new global research institute -- the Academy for Discovery, Adventure, Momentum, and Outlook, or the DAMO Academy for short. In popular Chinese novels, the DAMO Academy is a top martial arts institution.

Less than one month later on November 4, Tencent inked a strategic cooperation agreement with Springer Nature, a world-renowned research, education and publishing group, in an attempt to recruit young scientists through the journal Nature and build a global platform for the latest technology.

On the same day, which was the eve of the Symposium on the Source of Innovation organized by the Stanford Business Executive Education, the Technical Institute of V1 Group Limited ("Institute of V1") released its internal research report "Statements and Interpretations on the Digital Economy in China's Latest Policies". While discussing the report with other executives, Dr. Zhang Lijun, Chairman of V1 Group compared the Institute of V1 to the Shaolin Temple, another symbol of supremacy in Chinese martial arts novels. He went on to say that while Alibaba has the DAMO Academy, V1 Group's "Shaolin Temple" focuses more on the alignment of strategies and real work.

V1 Group's "Shaolin Temple" Institute of V1

Founded in early 2017, Institute of V1 is committed to the R&D of cutting-edge technology, industrial research and product incubation regarding information technology and the Internet. Unlike Alibaba, who vows to "spend 100 billion yuan in three years" to "recruit top researchers from around the world" and "push technology boundaries forward," or Tencent, who aspires to build a platform of young scientists worldwide, V1 Group is focusing on making its research institute into a reliable technical support provider for its business development and strategic thinking in this era of the digital economy while actively engaging in technological innovation and international exchange.

Zhang explained, "In Chinese novels, the Shaolin Temple is the common origin of a great variety of martial art forms and represents the supreme level of martial arts. Institute of V1 works closely with top experts, other research institutes and prestigious universities around the globe in an inclusive, open, collaborative and mutually beneficial way to advance R&D in cloud computing, big data, security, video, artificial intelligence, the Internet of things and the block chain, etc. Our only mission is to serve corporate development. It's more practical."

Aiming at commanding heights in human resources, information and technology

Upon its inception, the Institute of V1 was designed by Chairman Zhang to be "practical". He demanded the institute to concentrate resources and effort on human resources, information and technology, seizing commanding heights in these three aspects.

Human resources come before everything else. Institute of V1 has recruited its researchers from other prestigious IT companies, research institutes and universities at home and abroad, including big names such as Microsoft, the Chinese Academy of Science, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Stanford University, Harvard University, Carnegie Mellon University and Nokia, and 70% of its researchers have a master's degree or above.

Information leads us to the forefront of research. Zhang stressed the necessity to grasp the trend of technological development so that the group may keep pace with the world's most advanced levels.

Technology is the core impetus for innovation and development. The mission of the research institute is to provide strong support for V1 Group's business lines in terms of cloud computing, the block chain, artificial intelligence and the practical application of technology. Liu Hu, former technology director for mobile device business at Microsoft Greater China who now serves as the head of the Institute of V1, said, "Our ongoing research projects cover the integration of videos and artificial intelligence, a high-speed video cloud and a smart allocation system, artificial intelligence, an end-to-end encrypted transmission system, medical data analysis platforms and block chain technology, and we have indeed made certain achievements in these areas. These cutting-edge technologies will be applied to V1 Group's ongoing and upcoming business projects." So far, the Institute of V1 has formed close R&D partnerships with research institutes at Microsoft, Alibaba, Tencent, Tsinghua University, Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Science, etc.

Liu Hu has laid down three priorities for the research institute based on developmental trends of the Internet and other cutting-edge technologies at home and abroad as well asV1 Group's business development strategies. First, to produce substantial effects in technological application, data management and talent recruitment and training for the group while paving the way for the explosive growth of its business lines. Second, to form close partnerships and conduct technology exchanges with other research institutes in the Chinese Internet industry so as to jointly promote technological advancement and innovation. Third, to actively engage in exchange, research and exploration in the global Internet industry, establish extensive contacts with international technology innovation centers, manufacturing innovation centers and business mode innovation centers, and launch global technology exchanges.

Amid the rapid progress of technology, the V1 Research Institute will focus on practical needs and build its technological prowess in a down-to-earth manner to distinguish itself from other research institutes and produce more tech professionals and innovation.

About V1 Group Limited

V1 Group was established in 2005, listed on the Main Board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2006, became the first Chinese video media enterprise listed in Hong Kong. V1 Group Limited was named the "China's Top 100 Internet Companies" three years in a row from year 2014 to 2016. After eleven years of rapid development, V1 Group's main businesses have been fully covered the Internet and mobile terminals. In 2016, V1 Group successfully transformed from the new media industry group into a new economy in the internet industry, with extensive layout in new media, online games, internet healthcare, internet travel, internet education, internet finance and many other fields, which strive to build an internet life circle to solve the basic needs for users. V1 Group is now become an integrated new industry group in internet plus life field.

V1 Group IR website: http://ir.v1.cn

SOURCE V1 Group Limited

[GeneChing]

Crazy statistics from China’s biggest shopping day of the year (https://qz.com/1127087/singles-day-crazy-stats-from-alibabas-online-shopping-extravaganza/)
Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group, attends a show during Alibaba Group's 11.11 Singles' Day global shopping festival in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2017.

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/jack-ma-singles-day-2017.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600
Fired up. (Reuters/Aly Song)

WRITTEN BY Josh Horwitz
November 11, 2017

Singles Day, Alibaba’s annual day-long online shopping bonanza in which the e-commerce giant offers heavy discounts on a wide range of products, just came to an end.
On the evening prior, a number of international stars made appearances at a countdown gala Alibaba held in Shanghai. Football star Luís Figo got shots blocked onstage, Pharrell performed alongside Chinese singers Kris Wu, Karen Mok, and pianist Lang Lang, and Nicole Kidman introduced Jack Ma’s upcoming martial arts film Gong Shou Dao.

View image on Twitter (https://twitter.com/MariaSharapova/status/928901769685602305/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1127087%2Fsingles-day-crazy-stats-from-alibabas-online-shopping-extravaganza%2F)
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOQfM3cUQAEIEx8.jpg
Maria Sharapova ✔@MariaSharapova
An honor meeting Jack Ma at @AlibabaGroup #Double11 event today. Thank you for inviting me back to Shanghai! 🇨🇳
12:26 AM - Nov 10, 2017
137 137 Replies 441 441 Retweets 3,691 3,691 likes
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At midnight local time on November 11, the shopping commenced. Unsurprisingly, sales figures were enormous.
Citigroup predicted that Singles Day would drive $24 billion in purchases across Taobao, Tmall, and and other e-commerce properties. In fact, Alibaba exceeded expectations by a small margin. Over the 24-hour period, consumers bought 168.3 billion yuan ($25.4 billion) in goods from Alibaba.

At one point over the 24-hour period Alipay, the payment service run by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, was processing a record 256,000 payment transactions—more than double from last year’s peak

Alibaba surpassed last year’s final purchase figure of $17.8 billlion at 1:09 PM local time, 13 hours after the festival began.

China’s State Post Bureau estimates (link in Chinese) that over 1 billion packages will be delivered across China between Nov. 11 and Nov. 16, as consumers wait to receive their orders. That will amount to roughly the number of packages delivered across China throughout the entire year 2006.

Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba) kills it for Single Day (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70558-China-s-Single-Day).

[GeneChing]

OPEN SESAME
On the Alibaba campus, ambition and humility are both on display (https://qz.com/1159008/all-about-alibaba-ambition-and-humility-in-the-companys-campus-and-culture/)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/alibaba-wedding-smile.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600
Bride and groom at a mass "wedding" on Alibaba Day. (Alibaba)

WRITTEN BY Josh Horwitz
December 19, 2017

A campus can reveal a lot about a company’s culture. Google is famous for its outlandish office spaces, which contain egg pods and caverns, capturing its founders’ quirky personalities. Amazon is known for its door desks, symbols of founder Jeff Bezos’ frugality (even though they were more expensive than actual desks).

If there’s one Chinese company that can rival those foreign ones in visibility worldwide, it’s the e-commerce giant Alibaba, one of the world’s most highly-valued companies. Founder Jack Ma regularly appears at overseas events, where he captivates audiences with stories about his pre-Alibaba days when his resume was so weak he couldn’t even get a job at KFC. The company’s Singles Day shopping event is well-known enough worldwide to get American celebrities to come promote it. Every now and then Ma breaks into dance at a company event.

Like Amazon, its US-based counterpart, it’s moving beyond online commerce and into offline retail, cloud computing, and consumer finance. It’s also expanding internationally, opening up R&D centers in Singapore, Israel, and the US.

Very little of Ma’s flamboyance and ambition comes across at Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou’s Xixi district (about 180 km from Shanghai). At first glance, it looks like an ordinary office park. If anything stands out in particular, it’s the presence of two contrasting motifs in the central courtyard—the influence of classic Chinese literary and art forms, and a towering series of human sculptures.

Visually, the aesthetics of the two themes don’t appear to match. But they each capture a specific part of how Alibaba sees itself, and the challenges that lie ahead for the company.

Band of outsiders

Markings of imperial China dot the 260,000 square meter campus. Conference rooms have names like “Green Branch Peak” and “Banana Plains,” references to the Qing dynasty novel Dream of the Red Chamber (the 18th century work is considered one of China’s greatest literary achievements and has been compared to Gone with the Wind and War and Peace). The center of campus contains a walled garden inspired by the Jiangnan style of local architecture associated with Zhejiang province and other areas in eastern China along the Yangtze river. It’s open only to Jack Ma—his office is there—and other top executives, who use it as a meeting spot for guests such as Justin Trudeau, who visited in late 2016.

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/jiang-nan-trudeau-jack-ma.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640
Jack Ma with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau at a walled garden on Alibaba’s campus. (Alibaba)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/alibaba-warrior.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640
A statue of Shou Xin Gong, the god of longevity in Chinese mythology. (Quartz)

Chinese martial arts in particular is a common motif on Alibaba’s campus. Cartoon depictions of warriors are spread throughout hallways, meeting spaces, and even the parking lot.

Jack Ma’s fondness for martial arts stems in part from his admiration of the work of Jin Yong, a Hong Kong-based writer who published a series of adventure novels revolving around heroes and combat scenes. While published during the 20th century, the books are usually set in medieval Chinese history and draw on a long tradition of China’s wuxia, or martial arts-related fiction. He’s incorporated much of the literature into Alibaba’s internal culture.

The company’s values, for example, are dubbed the “Six Vein Spirit Sword,” which Ma borrowed from Jin Yong’s novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, whose characters are inspired by Buddhist philosophy. At Alibaba, each “vein” of the sword (which is not an actual sword in the novel) represents a company value—customer first, teamwork, embrace change, integrity, passion and, commitment. Employees are rated on their performance in part based on how well they fulfill each of these values.

All employees at Alibaba choose a nickname for themselves. Originally, Alibaba staff drew from characters in Jin Yong’s martial arts novels. Jack Ma’s nickname, for example, is Feng Qingyang, named after an elderly swordsman from the Jin Yong book The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. Nowadays, staff can take their nicknames from other inspiring characters too—Marvel superheroes and Korean dramas are popular, one employee told Quartz. These are used in all professional contexts—emails, group meetings, even performance reviews.

Brian Wong, Alibaba’s vice president of global initiatives and an employee since 1999, says Alibaba uses the nicknames, and the broader martial arts motif, to inspire staff to think of themselves as outsiders fighting for a cause.

Much of Alibaba’s past and present has hinged on it taking on established, powerful rivals. In the previous decade, while competing hard against eBay in China, the company steadfastly refused to charge vendors fees to list on its site. Investors quivered, but Chinese merchants embraced the policy, helping Alibaba to drive one of Silicon Valley’s largest companies out of the country. Nowadays, with its Ant Financial finance affiliate, the company is taking on a larger rival—state-owned Chinese banks, which Ma argues don’t adequately serve the Chinese consumer.

Jin Yong’s characters, Wong says, are like “a brotherhood, like a band of brothers, it’s a group of people that are fighting for values of righteousness, loyalty.”

“Often times they are sort of a peripheral group, they are not the mainstream. They have been shaped by things in their life they think are not fair or not right,” he adds.

continued next post

[GeneChing]

Humble touches

Alibaba’s courtyard also contains a series of sculptures that the company commissioned from contemporary Chinese artist Wang Wei. They depict giant, stern human figures in states of distress.

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/alibaba-skinny-statues-cropped.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640
The three figures depict “spirit and confidence in the face of difficulties, be strong but always be humble as well.” (Quartz/Captions quote from statue descriptions provided by Alibaba)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/alibaba-sulk.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640
A statue of a man burdened by a turtle shell on his back shows “he has pressure in life. We think at night, ‘What you have done today and what are you going to do tomorrow?'” (Quartz)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/alibaba-boats.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640
A statue that depicts rowers stuck on rock because they’re rowing in opposite directions is meant to encourage employees to “work hard for the same target, in the same direction.” (Quartz)

These statues represent another facet of Alibaba’s campus and corporate culture—humility.

Despite being valued at nearly $450 billion, Alibaba’s offices aren’t lavish. A typical office floor consists of a series of desks and some ordinary cubicles. For amenities, there are massage chairs, and the odd foosball or ping pong table.

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/office-overview.png?w=640
(Alibaba)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/office-employee-working.png?w=640
(Alibaba)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/recreation-employee-resting-in-massage-sofa.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640
(Alibaba)

Wong says the lack of glamor at one of the world’s most highly valued companies helps preserve a culture of modesty among staff. Even at its size, the company faces stiff competition from e-commerce rival JD.com, as well as social media giant Tencent, which has made inroads in online shopping with its popular WeChat messaging app. With over 50,000 employees, the company has to ensure staff doesn’t become complacent.

“One thing we’ve talked a lot about now at Alibaba is maintaining a sense of humility. The company has lots of influence on the economy and business in China, and extending into the world. But that’s a privilege and a responsibility,” Wong says. “If you start to give all the employees all these things that make them feel entitled, then they’re going to treat customers in a way that’s much different.”

City and state

Alibaba’s Xixi campus is just one of several it has in China. A smaller campus in Binjiang, 40 minutes by car from the Xixi headquarters, holds offices for employees that work for Alibaba.com, the company’s business-to-business e-commerce site, as well as AliExpress, its global-facing e-commerce site. Cainiao, Alibaba’s logistics arm, and Ant Financial each have separate offices in Hangzhou.

Alibaba has transformed the city. It was once primarily a destination for tourists heading to West Lake, a UNESCO heritage site. Now it’s a startup hub that vies with Shenzhen and Beijing for influence in China’s tech industry. Many Alibaba alumni have founded large companies that are based in the city, including Mobujie, a fashion social network valued at over $1 billion (paywall), and Beibei, a shopping site for mothers (paywall).

Like many Chinese tech giants, Alibaba’s relationship with the government is close but complicated. Ma’s philosophy is to be “in love with the government [but] don’t marry them.” Recently though, as the company has grown more influential, the government has increasingly relied on it for its own purposes. Last year Alibaba company partnered with the Hangzhou government to monitor traffic data across the city. It also is working with the city’s housing bureau to develop an online marketplace for house rentals, powered by Ant Financial’s controversial social credit scoring system. There’s even a spot on Alibaba’s Xixi campus that serves as a “designated meeting space where law-enforcement staff visit occasionally” to help with “established criminal cases,” a representative told the Wall Street Journal (paywall).

Scale and chaos

There are a few times each year when the sheer scale of Alibaba comes to life, sometimes chaotically. One is Alibaba Day, which takes place every May 10. Employees’ families are invited to campus to partake in various activities, including a “wedding” for newlywed couples, often officiated by Jack Ma himself. Wong says that the weddings are a symbol of valuing employees as family—at times, literally. Back in 2003, during China’s SARS epidemics, employees ran the business from their homes, often enlisting their parents or grandparents for help. The weddings, Wong says, are “the company’s way of saying thank you to the families.”

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/alibaba-group-wedding.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640
(Alibaba) (Alibaba)

Later in the year, as the company prepares for its annual Singles Day shopping bonanza in November, the campus fills with signs and posters promoting the event, and eventually, tents for employees working long hours.

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/pillows.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640
(Alibaba) (Alibaba)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/tent.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640
(Alibaba) (Alibab)

Wong, a Palo Alto, Calif. native, says that Alibaba’s campus might seem modest by the standards of Silicon Valley, where Apple recently unveiled its spaceship-like new digs. “If you’re comparing it to Google or Facebook, you’re not going to think this is impressive. But if you’re comparing it to other Chinese companies, it’s a pretty darn good campus,” he says.

Ultimately, like its more elaborate counterparts in other parts of the world, he says, it’s designed to inspire employees in its own way: “This is a similar approach, but with Chinese characteristics.”

This is why this has been a relevant thread here for so long. I'm moving it to the main forum now. Jack Ma could single-handedly revitalize Kung Fu, although I'm not confident GSD (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70541-Gong-Shou-Dao-(The-Art-of-Attack-and-Defence)) is the way to go (the way to go is to fund our publications for the next few years ;)).

[GeneChing]

There are some embedded vids behind the link.

I'll also plug my article from last week here because it's relevant to Jack Ma & the Olympics: Natasha Liu Bordizzo on Gong Shou Dao (The Art of Attack and Defense)
(http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1402)

2018 Olympics
Alibaba bets on Olympics to make it a household name (http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/20/news/companies/alibaba-olympics-brand/index.html)
by Sherisse Pham @Sherisse
February 20, 2018: 10:36 PM ET

Alibaba is ready to compete on the world stage.

China's biggest e-commerce company just made its debut as an Olympic sponsor at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang. Its massive pavilion at the event is a stone's throw from those of Coca-Cola (KO), McDonald's (MCD) and Samsung (SSNLF).

Those brands have instant global recognition, something that remains elusive for Alibaba (BABA) -- for now.

The Chinese company made a big splash when it went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014 with the world's largest IPO. Chairman Jack Ma frequently pops up at major international events like Davos, and he drew attention with a photo op with President Trump last year.

But Alibaba's "brand awareness outside China is not commensurate with its size," said Junhong Chu, a marketing professor at the National University of Singapore.

The company, whose market value is bigger than that of Walmart (WMT), is banking on its Olympic sponsorship to help change the situation.

Brands pay millions of dollars to snag the highest level of Olympic sponsorship. To join that elite club, they must commit to a minimum four-year contract and fork over some serious cash. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) predicts it will make $1 billion from the program for the 2013-2016 period.

The companies that sign on to become top sponsors are typically household names, such as Toyota (TM), GE (GE) and Visa (V).

Alibaba joined them in 2017. Financial terms of Olympic sponsorships are not made public, but it is reported to have spent $800 million for a deal lasting through 2028.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/180216144304-alibaba-pyeongchang-olympics-780x439.jpg
Alibaba's pavilion in Gangneung Olympic Park is near those of Coca-Cola, Samsung and McDonald's.

The Chinese company's big Olympic debut comes as one top American brand is leaving the party. McDonald's announced in June that it would end its decades-long deal with the Olympics three years early.

Alibaba is stepping in "at a very critical time," the company's chief marketing officer, Chris Tung, said in an email to CNNMoney. It will use its technology to help make the Olympics "more efficient, secure and engaging," he added.

So while sports fans won't be catching any Big Mac commercials during the Pyeongchang Games, they will see Alibaba's ad campaign.

"This is Alibaba's global coming-out party," said John Gutteridge, Asia Pacific CEO of advertising firm J. Walter Thompson Company.

Its commercials feature stories of underdog athletes or small acts of kindness that took place at past Olympics.

"To the greatness of small" is the campaign's tag line. And all the commercials end with the following phrase written in white on a black screen: "Alibaba empowers small businesses and young people around the world."

The company is also sponsoring some Olympics-related content on CNN Digital during the Games.

For someone who has never heard of Alibaba, its Olympic commercials do little to clarify what the company does. But it might prompt them to find out, according to Chu.

Research suggests that people often respond to ads with online searches, she said, suggesting that if consumers hear about Alibaba during the Olympics, and their interest is piqued, they will do their own research into the company.

Wooing U.S. businesses

Alibaba is often called the Amazon (AMZN) of China, and much like its U.S. rival, the company has expanded well beyond its original e-commerce business. It has a growing cloud computing business, operates a major video site and is affiliated with a massive digital payments platform. It's even expanding into brick-and-mortar stores in China.

It is also trying build up its business in the U.S., holding a big conference in Detroit in June to encourage American small businesses and farmers to sell their products to Chinese consumers through Alibaba platforms.

Expanding internationally has so far proved tough for Alibaba because its e-commerce sites and other main services are tailored to the Chinese market.

As part of its Olympics sponsorship, Alibaba became the official cloud services provider and e-commerce platform for the Games, as well as a founding partner of the Olympic Channel.

But raising its profile significantly in the U.S. through Olympic marketing campaigns may be a challenge.

Alibaba is signing on as a sponsor at a time when fewer people are watching the Games on NBC, the official U.S. broadcaster of the Olympics.

The network pulled in an average of 22.2 million prime-time viewers in the first week of Olympic coverage, down more than 6% from the first week of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, according to NBC Universal.

CNNMoney (Gangneung, South Korea)
First published February 20, 2018: 10:36 PM ET


Thread: Winter Olympics (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70589-Winter-Olympics)
Thread: Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)

[GeneChing]

Asian Games: Will Alibaba boss Jack Ma sing ‘Unchained Melody’ at Indonesia closing ceremony or will he perform Tai Chi? (https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2162356/asian-games-alibaba-boss-jack-ma-set-perform-jakarta-closing-ceremony)
The Alibaba co-founder will take part in the ceremony to hand over the Asian Games flag to his hometown of Hangzhou, host of the 2022 Games

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 01 September, 2018, 7:20pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 01 September, 2018, 8:58pm
Nazvi Careem

https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/09/01/c06d251e-add3-11e8-8796-d12ba807e6e9_1280x720_205807.jpg?itok=r6bq_vrn

Alibaba co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma has reportedly told people he will perform at the Asian Games 2018 closing ceremony in Jakarta on Sunday.

Ma met Olympic Council of Asia president Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah on Saturday morning and it was at this meeting he told those present that he would perform at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium to mark the end of a successful Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang.

An official who was at the meeting but who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak, confirmed that Ma told those present he would be performing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8Ev9r6gXbg

His entourage applauded after he made the announcement. Ma’s office, though, informed the SCMP that he would only make a short remark at the ceremony but not perform.

Another source suggested that Ma will not sing but perform some Tai Chi during the show. Ma is a Tai Chi master and says he uses the discipline’s philosophy in his business dealings and in his daily life.

Taijiquan and Taijijian are part of the Asian Games wushu disciplines.

Ma will take part in the ceremony to hand over the baton to Chinese city Hangzhou, his hometown, which is hosting the 2022 Asian Games. The Alibaba billionaire is a major force behind Hangzhou’s successful bid to stage the next Games.

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/09/01/0e6fbc68-add4-11e8-8796-d12ba807e6e9_1320x770_205807.jpg
Jack Ma (eight) with Olympic Council of Asian official Wei Jizhong at the Asian Games men’s volleyball final between China and Thailand.

The South China Morning Post is a subsidiary of Alibaba.

The 53-year-old Ma has performed in public before, most notably at the Yunqi Music Festival in October last year when he and Chinese singer Li Jian sang a duet of the latter’s hit song “Legend”.

Ma, wearing sunglasses and wearing a hip jacket, remained on stage to sing three more songs solo – Unchained Melody, Jonathan Lee’s I Finally Lost you and Wang Feng’s When I’m Thinking of You.

The Yunqi festival was part of the Computing Conference 2017 that was hosted by Alibaba Cloud in Hangzhou.

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/09/01/a6dd24d6-add4-11e8-8796-d12ba807e6e9_1320x770_205807.JPG
The Asian Games opening ceremony on August 18. Photo: Reuters

Jakarta brings the curtain down on what has been a hugely successful Asian Games, surprising the world with its organisation, relative efficiency and, most of all, its spectacular opening ceremony on August 18 that set new standards for future Olympics and regional multisports events to emulate.

At the closing ceremony on Sunday, Hangzhou mayor Xu Liyi will receive the Asian Games flag from Jakarta officials and will take it back to the Chinese city as they begin their preparations for the 2022 Games.

THREADS
Asian Games (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?58907-Asian-Games)
Chinese Billionaires & Tai Chi (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70406-Chinese-Billionaires-amp-Tai-Chi)
Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)

[GeneChing]

He just announced the next games in his hometown.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCe5o5euNao

THREADS
Asian Games (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?58907-Asian-Games)
Chinese Billionaires & Tai Chi (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70406-Chinese-Billionaires-amp-Tai-Chi)
Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)

[GeneChing]

I'm hoping that philanthropy includes promoting Chinese martial arts. Something like sponsoring Kung Fu Tai Chi (http://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html) would be phenomenal. :)


Alibaba’s Jack Ma, China’s Richest Man, to Retire From Company He Co-Founded (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/technology/alibaba-jack-ma-retiring.html)

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/09/08/business/08alibaba-print-dress/merlin_137647791_fe403004-eb35-494c-b9c9-07a676c3ebd7-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp
Jack Ma, co-founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, is stepping down at a time when the Chinese business environment has soured.CreditCreditAmir Cohen/Reuters
By Li Yuan
Sept. 7, 2018

阅读简体中文版閱讀繁體中文版
HONG KONG — Alibaba’s co-founder and executive chairman, Jack Ma, said he planned to step down from the Chinese e-commerce giant on Monday to pursue philanthropy in education, a changing of the guard for the $420 billion internet company.

A former English teacher, Mr. Ma started Alibaba in 1999 and built it into one of the world’s most consequential e-commerce and digital payments companies, transforming how Chinese people shop and pay for things. That fueled his net worth to more than $40 billion, making him China’s richest man. He is revered by many Chinese, some of whom have put his portrait in their homes to worship in the same way that they worship the God of Wealth.

Mr. Ma is retiring as China’s business environment has soured, with Beijing and state-owned enterprises increasingly playing more interventionist roles with companies. Under President Xi Jinping, China’s internet industry has grown and become more important, prompting the government to tighten its leash. The Chinese economy is also facing slowing growth and increasing debt, and the country is embroiled in an escalating trade war with the United States.

“He’s a symbol of the health of China’s private sector and how high they can fly whether he likes it or not,” Duncan Clark, author of the book “Alibaba: The House Jack Ma Built,” said of Mr. Ma. “His retirement will be interpreted as frustration or concern whether he likes it or not.”

In an interview, Mr. Ma said his retirement is not the end of an era but “the beginning of an era.” He said he would be spending more of his time and fortune focused on education. “I love education,” he said.

Mr. Ma will remain on Alibaba’s board of directors and continue to mentor the company’s management. Mr. Ma turns 54 on Monday, which is also a holiday in China known as Teacher’s Day.

The retirement makes Mr. Ma one of the first founders among a generation of prominent Chinese internet entrepreneurs to step down from their companies. Firms including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and JD.com have flourished in recent years, growing to nearly rival American internet behemoths like Amazon and Google in their size, scope and ambition. For Chinese tycoons to step aside in their 50s is rare; they usually remain at the top of their organizations for many years.

The departure of Mr. Ma is likely to jolt China’s internet industry, which has been reeling from the arrest last weekend of Liu Qiangdong, the billionaire founder of the online retailer JD.com. Mr. Liu, who goes by Richard Liu in the English-speaking world, was arrested on a rape allegation in Minneapolis during a business trip. He was released and has since returned to Beijing, where JD.com is based.

For Alibaba, Mr. Ma’s retirement completes a transition of power to other executives. Mr. Ma stepped down as Alibaba’s chief executive in 2013; the company’s current chief executive is Daniel Zhang, who is a candidate to succeed Mr. Ma. Yet Mr. Ma had remained active as the face of the e-commerce firm, as well as an architect of its long-term strategy. He owns a 6.4 percent stake of Alibaba, according to securities filings, but has considerably more sway over the company thanks to its complicated legal structure.

Mr. Ma, a natural salesman and charismatic leader, co-founded Alibaba with 17 others — some of them his students — out of his apartment in Hangzhou in eastern Zhejiang province in 1999.

Alibaba started as an online marketplace for businesses to sell their products to other businesses. But it did not take off until it began the Taobao marketplace in 2003, which merchants used to sell goods directly to consumers. Alibaba later rolled out Alipay, an online payment service, to facilitate transactions in a country where few people had credit cards. Alipay later became Ant Financial, the financial subsidiary that Mr. Ma also controls.

Today, Alibaba’s empire encompasses e-commerce, online banking, cloud computing, digital media and entertainment — and even a corporate messaging service similar to Slack. The company owns or holds stakes in some of China’s most important media assets, including the Twitter-like social media site Weibo and the Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper The South China Morning Post.

Among China’s biggest companies, Alibaba is viewed as one of the firms with the deepest ranks of management talent. Many of the co-founders are still around, and professionals who joined the company later are now in charge.

Last month, Alibaba reported a 60 percent increase in quarterly sales, even as profits fell. The company’s annual revenue totals about 250 billion yuan, or $40 billion.

While Alibaba has become dominant in China, it has faced a tougher time expanding internationally. The company has increased its presence outside of China by investing in e-commerce and online finance companies in India and Southeast Asia. But its efforts to muscle into the United States largely have not been successful.

Even after Mr. Ma met with President-elect Donald J. Trump in early 2017 and promised to bring one million jobs to the United States, the federal government rejected Ant Financial’s bid to acquire the American money transfer company MoneyGram this year over national security concerns.

As Beijing has increased its involvement in the private sector, Mr. Ma has shifted what he has said about China’s government. He used to say that businesses should be in love with the government but never get married to each other, indicating that an arms-length relationship was preferred.

At a conference last November, Mr. Ma was more positive. “There’s no country like China in the world,” he said. “With political stability, social safety and 6 percent-plus economic growth, we have the best business environment.”

As Alibaba has flourished, Mr. Ma has talked many times about how he did not want to spend his whole life at the company, saying he would retire one day and go back to teaching.

In 2014, he created the Jack Ma Foundation, which has worked to improve education in rural China. Mr. Ma’s Weibo social media handle is “spokesman for village teachers — Jack Ma.” Within Alibaba, he is known and referred to as “Teacher Ma.”

In an interview with Bloomberg TV this week, Mr. Ma signaled he was thinking about focusing more on philanthropy. He cited the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates as an example.

Mr. Ma said he could never be as rich as Mr. Gates — but that he could retire earlier than Mr. Gates. Mr. Gates stepped down as Microsoft’s chairman in 2014, at the age of 58.

Follow Li Yuan on Twitter: @LiYuan6.

[GeneChing]

I just hope Zhang is as into martial arts as Ma is.


http://image5.sixthtone.com/image/5/13/207.jpg

Daniel Zhang: The New Face of Alibaba (http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1002892/daniel-zhang-the-new-face-of-alibaba)
Jack Ma lauds his successor as a ‘next-generation leader,’ but many say Zhang has big shoes to fill.
Bibek Bhandari and Liang Chenyu
Sep 10, 2018 4-min read

Nineteen years after Alibaba Group’s founding, the company’s executive chairman, Jack Ma, has announced that he will step down from the position next year and named chief executive officer Daniel Zhang as his successor.

Zhang will take the helm of one of China’s biggest e-commerce companies on Sept. 10, 2019, after having served as its CEO for just over four years, Ma said in a statement on Monday. Ma, who co-founded the company in 1999, will remain Alibaba’s executive chairman until then, and afterward will stay on as director of the company’s board and a permanent member of the Alibaba Partnership, a cohort of 36 people involved with the company who embody and promote its mission, vision, and values.

“Starting the process of passing the Alibaba torch to Daniel and his team is the right decision at the right time, because I know from working with them that they are ready, and I have complete confidence in our next generation of leaders,” Ma wrote in a letter addressed to Alibaba customers, employees, and shareholders.

Duncan Clark, author of “Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built,” told Sixth Tone that Zhang, who has been credited as the architect of Alibaba’s ever-expanding e-commerce outlets, is a well-respected figure within the company — and that while he might not match Ma’s popularity and high profile, Zhang has demonstrated sufficient expertise to take the reins of the company.

“He is known to investors and seen as a safe pair of hands,” Clark said. “But Jack will remain a very important figure — so the question is, what will he actually do? Will Daniel be able to take on more responsibilities, or will he still focus on day-to-day business? We have yet to see.”

Ma describes his 46-year-old successor as a man with “superb talent, business acumen, and determined leadership,” as well as the “guts to innovate.” Zhang started his career at Alibaba in 2007 as chief financial officer for online retailer Taobao, and quickly ascended the rungs of the company hierarchy. Just a year later, he was named Taobao’s chief operating officer and the general manager of Taobao Mall, now known as Tmall.

Zhang is also known for introducing China’s 1.3 billion people to the world’s biggest online shopping frenzy: the equivalent of Black Friday in the United States, but on a much grander scale. The annual Singles’ Day shopping event on Nov. 11 started as a small promotional project under Zhang’s leadership in 2009, and has set new global records for consumerism each year since. Every November, Zhang can proudly point to a screen projecting an astronomical sales figure, which last year reached a whopping $25 billion, up from just $7.8 million in 2009.

A Shanghai native, Zhang studied finance at the prestigious Shanghai University of Finance and Economics from 1991 to 1995. However, he never wanted a routine job or a predictable life — a message he imparted to students during a 2016 event at his alma mater. “Investing in yourself is the best investment you can make,” he said at the time.

Alibaba employees refer to Zhang as xiaoyaozi — a term for a “free and unfettered” spirit that comes from kung fu writer Jin Yong’s novel “Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.” But while at work, Zhang plays the part of the versatile, well-rounded leader, qualities that set him apart from Ma, according to a 2017 profile on Alibaba’s company news site, Alizila. “The focus on even the smallest of details highlights a key difference between Alibaba’s founder and Zhang,” it said.

On microblogging platform Weibo, thousands of netizens have left glowing comments about Ma’s plan to pursue philanthropy and educational projects, and some users are referring to Zhang as the company’s “stepfather” — the precocious heir apparent to Ma, whose charismatic personality, eloquent public speaking, and keen mind for business have been etched into the world’s ninth most valuable brand. A former English teacher who is now one of China’s richest people, Ma cultivated a strong fan following not only through business sense and philanthropy, but also through showy antics like starring in a kung fu film alongside Jet Li and performing a Michael Jackson-inspired dance to celebrate Alibaba’s birthday.

Clark said that one of the major tests for Zhang will be to maintain and eventually build on the company culture that Ma created. “How will Daniel be able to excite the team and customers?” he said. “It’s not an easy thing to replace the founder. [...] If this is successful, that will be another big achievement.”

According to Ma, the leadership transition is a shift away from relying on individuals and toward promoting collective talent. “The one thing I can promise everyone is this,” said the chairman. “Alibaba was never about Jack Ma, but Jack Ma will forever belong to Alibaba.”

Contributions: Fan Liya; editor: David Paulk.

(Header image: Daniel Zhang speaks during a press conference in Shanghai, Aug. 2, 2018. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg/VCG)

'xiaoyaozi'... now where have we heard Xiao Yao before (http://www.shouyuliang.com/classes/wuji-xiao-yao-class.php)?

[GeneChing]

...we have already experienced some direct negative effects here at Kung Fu Tai Chi (http://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html). The details are confidential, but astute readers might catch what we lost. :(


Alibaba’s Jack Ma takes back promise to Trump to create 1 million US jobs (https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/alibabas-jack-ma-takes-back-promise-to-trump-to-create-1-million-us-jobs)
By Jade Scipioni Published September 19, 2018

https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxbusiness.com/foxbusiness.com/content/uploads/2018/09/764/432/Trump-Ma-AP.jpg?ve=1&tl=1
In this Jan. 9, 2017 photo, then President-elect Donald Trump stands with Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma as they walk to speak with reporters after a meeting at Trump Tower in New York. Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, the world’s biggest online commerce company by total sales, was among the stream of Chinese business leaders who visited Trump Tower in Manhattan to meet the president following his election. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Jack Ma, the founder of Chinese retail giant Alibaba, is backing down on his promise to create 1 million jobs in the U.S. over the next five years, amid the ongoing trade war between President Trump and China.

The billionaire previously told Trump before his inauguration in January 2017 that he would commit to creating new jobs but recanted those sentiments Wednesday to a Chinese new outlet, Xinhua, on the heels of a new round of tariffs this week from both countries.

"The promise was made on the premise of friendly US-China partnership and rational trade relations," Ma told Xinhua. "That premise no longer exists today, so our promise cannot be fulfilled."

A day earlier, Ma referred to the trade frictions between the countries as “a mess” and said the war could end up lasting 20 years or more, causing a lot of Chinese businesses to move to other countries.

He said new trade rules are desperately needed over the long-term.

"Even if Donald Trump retired, the new president will come, it will still continue...We need new trade rules, we need to upgrade the WTO," he said Tuesday during the company’s shareholder meeting in Hangzhou.

Ma, who recently announced that he will be stepping down as Alibaba’s chairman within a year, also told Xinhua that despite the current fiction, he will “not stop working hard to contribute to the healthy development of China-US trade."

"Trade is not a weapon and should not be used to start wars — it should be the driver for peace," Ma added.

For years, Ma has been pushing his vision of U.S. small businesses selling to Chinese shoppers through his online marketplaces, but many experts have criticized his plan.

According to a Bloomberg report, Alibaba is merely just a platform and it’s not as easy as listing on Amazon.com, which has its own logistics network to standardize delivery.

If small businesses want to list on Alibaba, they would have to go to third-party service providers to do everything from translation, to dealing with legislation, logistics, and how to ship to Chinese consumers, which could end up being a big risk.

[GeneChing]

More on Xiaoyao Zi...


'Kung fu king' in hot seat (http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=200267)
| Siu Sai-wo 17 Sep 2018

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/newsImage/20180917/50020724contentPhoto1.jpg

Jack Ma Yun will step down as chairman of Alibaba, and his successor, chief executive Daniel Zhang Yong, has been thrust into the global limelight.

Zhang has been with the group for many years and has been instrumental in the success of online retail platforms Taobao and Tmall.

His ability is well recognized in the dotcom sector but Ma's unique image and style is not something that can be substituted.

Zhang is nicknamed Xiaoyao Zi - free and unfettered person, a legendary kung fu master character in Jin Yong's martial arts novel Tian Long Ba Bu, or Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.

After his appointment as the next chairman was announced, there were comments in the mainland media that he will not be free and unfettered any more.

Like Zhang, many senior management members of the Alibaba group have monikers that are also taken from Jin Yong's novels. For example, chief marketing officer Wang Shuai, whom I've met in Hong Kong a few years ago, is Bei Lei Shou; chief risk officer Shao Xiaofeng is Guo Jing.

In the novel, Xiaoyao Zi came into possession of a valuable book in Dali on the basis of which he created the "eternally youthful style of fighting."

He also established his own kung fu sect, with the most notable disciple being Tian Shan Tong Lao.

The concept xiao yao was from the work of ancient philosopher Zhuangzi, and Xiaoyao Zi's martial art form was also based on the ways of Nature. His most formidable set of moves was bei ming shen gong, which is almost unrivalled.

Readers might also be impressed with his ling bo wei bu, a kind of qinggong - gravity-defying technique - that helped Duan Yu, the main character Tian Long Ba Bu, to escape every time he ran into a dangerous situation, as he did not know kung fu.

Having earned himself the moniker Xiaoyao Zi, Zhang is clearly seen as a top level master who has the ability to handle heavy tasks with ease.

Siu Sai-wo is publisher of Sing Tao Daily

[GeneChing]

Your stock pick - brought to you by your friendly neighborhood KungFuMagazine.com Forum.

If you make a killing on the market with this, be sure to subscribe (https://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html).


Goldman predicts Alibaba shares will rally more than 50% in one year (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/03/goldman-predicts-alibaba-shares-will-rally-more-than-50-percent-in-one-year.html)
Goldman Sachs reiterates its buy rating for Alibaba shares, predicting strong growth in the company's cloud computing and financial businesses.
"We expect Alibaba to continue to invest for future growth on multiple fronts," analyst Piyush Mubayi says.
Tae Kim | @firstadopter
Published 2 Hours Ago Updated 1 Hour Ago
CNBC.com

https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/01/09/104207483-GettyImages-455702448.530x298.jpg?v=1536938389
Chinese online retail giant Alibaba CEO Jack Ma (C) waves as he arrives at the New York Stock Exchange in New York on September 19, 2014.
Alibaba will thrive as it dominates new markets in China, according to Goldman Sachs.

The firm reiterated its buy and conviction list ratings for Alibaba shares, predicting strong growth in the company's cloud computing and financial businesses.

"We remain impressed with Alibaba's overall leverage to China consumption growth given its strategy, positioning, ability to build new businesses (such as new retail) and its execution," analyst Piyush Mubayi said in a note to clients Wednesday. "We expect Alibaba to continue to invest for future growth on multiple fronts."

Alibaba shares were up 1.2 percent Wednesday.

Mubayi raised his 12-month price target to $247 from $241, representing 54 percent upside to Tuesday's close.

The analyst said Alibaba's cloud business market share in China rose to 46 percent in 2017 from 30 percent in 2015. He said the company's financial segment called Ant Financial now has 640 million customers using at least two of its services.

"In our view, the continuous investment in cloud technology demonstrates Alibaba's determination to solidify its leading position in the industry and take up more market share in the future," he said. "We believe Ant Financial will continue to be the 'enabler' of Alibaba's New Retail strategy and help the company navigate the globalization road map."

— CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this story.

[GeneChing]

There are two parts to every story.

This is part 1.


NOVEMBER 8, 2018 8:33PM PT
Alibaba Pictures Cuts Losses to $22 Million (https://variety.com/2018/biz/asia/alibaba-pictures-cuts-losses-1203024213/)
By PATRICK FRATER
Asia Bureau Chief

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/dying-to-survive-2-cr.jpeg?crop=2px%2C0px%2C2080px%2C1171px&resize=1000%2C563
CREDIT: COURTESY OF HUANXI MEDIA

Alibaba Pictures Group, the film services and production division of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, saw its revenues increase by 29% in the six months between April and September. Its net losses decreased.

Revenues increased from RMB1.18 billion to $220 million (RMB1.53 billion) in the period reflecting growth across its three business units: Internet-based promotion and distribution; content investment and production; and merchandizing.

Losses at the operating level were essentially unchanged at $61.0 million (RMB424 million). But the group benefited from $37.7 million (RMB262 million) of net financial income and was able to show net losses reduced from RMB431 million to $22.2 million (RMB154 million).

Revenues at the online ticketing platform Taopiaopiao were swelled by the overall growth of the Chinese box office, and its own expanded market share. The group says that it also managed to reduce the unit’s marketing costs by 17%.

Alibaba Pictures also had a hand in hit films “Dying to Survive,” “Hello Mr Billionaire,” and Mission: Impossible – Fallout” either as a distributor or investor. The content production unit enjoyed an 83% surge in revenues, to $44.8 million (RMB311 million,) driven by licensing of TV shows including “SCI” and “Gossip High” to streaming platforms iQiyi and (Alibaba-owned) Youku. Its upcoming slate includes animated film “Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year,” for release in February 2019.

“The company “upheld its strategy of ‘data + ecosystem’ to build an end-to-end value chain that covers content production & development, promotion & distribution, merchandising realization and financial services, and to launch high-quality content with influential and positive energy, and continue to empower industry partners to continue to provide joyful entertainment content for consumers,” said Alibaba Pictures chairman and CEO, Fan Luyuan. “Alibaba Pictures will continue to help the traditional film industry to enhance efficiency to accelerate its industrialization process.”

With its shares – listed in both Hong Kong and Singapore – trading at HK$1.07, the company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion (HK$27.3 billion).

[GeneChing]

This is part 2.


Alibaba's newly formed on-demand online services unit has rocketed in value to as much as $30 billion (https://www.businessinsider.com/alibabas-on-demand-online-services-unit-raises-value-to-30-billion-2018-11)
Kane Wu and Julie Zhu, Reuters 19h

https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/5be3da3cc95701641b403392-1334-1001.jpg
People stand near a sign of Alibaba Group at its campus in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, May 27, 2016. John Ruwitch / Reuters

Alibaba's newly developed on-demand service has risen in value to as much as $30 billion after the company announced a fundraising plan for the service in August.

Alibaba's has raised $4 billion dollars for its on-demand-service during its ongoing financing round, $3 billion of which Alibaba provided itself.
The company expects to close this financing round by the end of the month.

Alibaba's on-demand service came about after the company combined the operations of its food delivery service, Ele.me, and its Yelp-like online restaurant guide business, Koubei.

With this announcement in October, Alibaba Group put itself in a position to become a major player in China's burgeoning food delivery market.

Starbucks recently partnered with Ele.me to delivery store-quality beverages straight to people's doors in China, which has become its second largest market after the US.

Alibaba combined the operation of food delivery service Ele.me and online restaurant guide business Koubei under a single management team and holding vehicle in October. It announced a fundraising plan for the vehicle in August.

In a deal in April where Alibaba bought the shares it did not already own, Ele.me was valued at $9.5 billion. Koubei was worth $8 billion at the end of last year, according to a list of unicorns published in March by a unit under China's science and technology ministry.
More than $3 billion of the new funds came from Alibaba itself and SoftBank's (9984.T) Vision Fund, the people said. Primavera Capital Group and Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, which have already invested in Koubei, also joined in the fundraising, they said. The company expects to close this financing round by the end of November, one source added.

Alibaba, SoftBank and Ant Financial declined to comment. Primavera did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The people declined to be named because the information is confidential.

Alibaba said in August it had received commitments of more than $3 billion from investors including itself and SoftBank.

The fresh capital will give the unit ammunition in its intensifying battle with rival Meituan Dianping (3690.HK), backed by Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), for dominance of China's booming online-to-offline (O2O) market where apps link smartphone users with bricks-and-mortar businesses to provide food delivery and other offerings.

Meituan Dianping in September raised $4.2 billion in the world's biggest internet-focused initial public offering in four years, after pricing it near the top end of a marketed range at HK$69 per share.

However its shares are down 9 percent since its Sept. 20 debut, giving it a current market cap of $44 billion.

Meituan said in its half-year report that the number of its annual active users from the 12 months ending June 30 grew 30 percent to 357 million from the same period a year ago. The number of merchants active in the past year grew 52 percent to 5.1 million for the same period.

In comparison, Ele.me served over 167 million active consumers in 676 cities in China for the 12 months ended June 30, Alibaba said in its latest quarterly report. Together, Ele.me and Koubei served 3.5 million registered merchants as of June 30.

Before the April deal, the e-commerce giant and Ant Financial owned a 43 stake in the business, whose name roughly translates to "Hungry?". Ele.me also runs Baidu Inc's (BIDU.O) former food delivery business, which it acquired a year ago.

Koubei was founded in 2015 as a 50-50 joint venture of Alibaba and Ant Financial. Silver Lake, CDH Investments, Yunfeng Capital, which is backed by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, and Primavera Capital joined as investors in a January 2017 funding round.

[GeneChing]

No pic, just a vid behind the link


MONEY & MARKETS
How Alibaba turned a fake holiday into a $25 billion shopping extravaganza that's bigger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined (https://www.businessinsider.com.au/singles-day-alibaba-25-billion-largest-shopping-holiday-2018-11)
NATHANIEL LEE, COREY PROTIN
NOV 12, 2018, 6:00 AM

Singles’ Day has become the largest shopping day in the entire world, thanks to Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba.

Alibaba made $US25 billion in just 24 hours on November 11, 2017 – that’s more than US Black Friday and Cyber Monday online sales combined.

Watch the video above to find out how this made up holiday was invented and exploded into a billion dollar shopping extravaganza that rivals Amazon’s ‘Prime Day.’

The following is a transcript of the video.

25 Billion Dollars. That’s how much Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, made in just 24 hours on November 11, 2017.

That’s more than the total online US sales from both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Combined.

It happened during an unofficial Chinese holiday called: Singles’ Day. But what is Alibaba, what is “Singles’ Day,” and how did they make so much money so quickly?

Singles’ Day literally translates to “Bare Sticks Holiday.” A reference to the Chinese expression: “bare branches.” The expression refers to bachelors who aren’t adding “branches” to the family tree.

Now, all of this is rooted in China’s one-child policy. Implemented between 1978 and 1980, it was intended to curb the country’s overpopulation problem. But the policy had unintended blowback.

China now has a massive gender imbalance. By 2020, it’s projected that men will outnumber females by at least 30 million. Hence, “Singles’ Day.”

From this national turmoil, the unofficial holiday was born at this university. It’s a day that was initially meant for single men to party with other single friends.

Though, fast forward to 2009. Alibaba’s CEO, Daniel Zhang, sees a business opportunity to co-opt the unofficial holiday in an attempt to drum up more online sales.

In China, spikes in shopping sales were common in late September, before China’s National Day. And again in the first two months of the year before the Spring Festival.

Those two retail poles created a lull in late autumn, which Alibaba hoped to exploit with deep price cuts.

And it worked. Seeing the potential of Alibaba’s move, most Chinese retailers jumped on board the next year.

Now, Singles’ Day has become the biggest shopping day in the entire world. And it looks like it’s just going to get even bigger.

THREADS:
Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
Single Day (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70558-China-s-Single-Day)

[GeneChing]

NOVEMBER 22, 2018 3:13AM PT
Chinese Actress Vicki Zhao Banned From Securities Markets (https://variety.com/2018/biz/asia/chinese-actress-vicki-zhao-penalized-1203035246/)
By PATRICK FRATER
Patrick Frater
Asia Bureau Chief

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/vicky-zhao.jpg?w=1000&h=562&crop=1
CREDIT: UNIMEDIA IMAGES/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

Prominent Chinese actress Zhao Wei (aka Vicki Zhao) has been banned for five years from holding senior positions in any listed company in China. The ruling was made by the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

The punishment relates to the failed 2016 takeover bid announced by Tibet Longwei, a company controlled by Zhao and her husband, Huang Youlong, for 29% of Zhejiang Wanija. The pair were found to have “disrupted market order” and to have benefited from a “celebrity effect” when they announced their bid, but did not have the financial resources to go through with it.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission had previously punished the pair with a five-year ban from trading on the Shanghai market and a $170,000 (RMB1.2 million) fine for the same offense. The latest, additional penalty reflects their release of false information during the bid.

Zhao made her name with 1990s TV series “My Fair Princess.” She has since become well-known for roles in such movie as “Shaolin Soccer” and “Red Cliff.” In 2014, Zhao made her directorial debut with hit film “So Young.” She was subsequently announced as directing two films for Alibaba Pictures, including an animated version of “Princess.”

Like some other hugely paid Chinese celebrities, Zhao has become known as a prominent investor. Chinese media has frequently reported her net worth to exceed $1 billion, fueled in particular by buying a large, early stake in Alibaba Pictures, on the personal recommendation of Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma.

China’s celebrities have come under growing scrutiny over the past year, and authorities expect them to set a good example or face the consequences. Top actress Fan Bingbing has been hit with fines and penalties in excess of $130 million in relation to her tax affairs.

I wish I had been as smart as Zhao Wei (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71084-Vicky-Zhao-Wei) and invested in Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba).

[GeneChing]

Strangely, I never considered party affiliation of PRC moguls before.


NOVEMBER 26, 2018 / 6:51 PM / A DAY AGO
Alibaba's Jack Ma is a Communist Party member, China state paper reveals (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alibaba-jack-ma/alibabas-jack-ma-is-a-communist-party-member-china-state-paper-reveals-idUSKCN1NW073)
3 MIN READ

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Jack Ma, the head of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and China’s best-known capitalist, is a Communist Party member, the official Party newspaper said on Monday, debunking a public assumption the billionaire was politically unattached.

The People’s Daily revealed Ma’s Party membership in a list of 100 people it said had helped drive the country “reform and opening up” process. Ma is China’s richest man with a fortune of $35.8 billion, according to Forbes.

It was unclear why the paper chose to mention Ma’s affiliation now but it comes amid a push by Beijing to bring the country’s private enterprises more in line with Party values, especially in the technology sector that has grown rapidly, driven by the successes of private firms.

Ma, who announced in September he would step down as Alibaba chairman next year, is China’s highest-profile business leader. He has acted as an adviser to political leaders in Asia and Europe and fostered big ambitions in the United States.

He has driven Alibaba to become a $390 billion giant, which dominates China’s online retail market, stretches from logistics to social media, and has spawned a separate fintech empire around popular payment platform Alipay.

Ma’s political affiliation came as a surprise to many.

Results from domestic search engine Baidu Inc, when asked “is Jack Ma a Communist Party member”, also mostly said that he was not.

Alibaba declined to comment on Ma’s Party membership, but said political ties did not impact the firm’s operations.

“Political affiliation of any executive does not influence the company’s business decision-making process,” a spokesperson said in emailed comments to Reuters on Tuesday.

“We follow all laws and regulations in countries where we operate as we fulfil our mission of making it easier for people to do business anywhere in the digital era.”

The People’s Daily list also included Baidu head Robin Li and Tencent Holding Ltd chief Pony Ma, though did not name either of them as Party members. Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent together make up the “BAT” trio of China’s top tech firms.

The paper did not say when Ma had become a Party member.

Reporting by Adam Jourdan and John Ruwitch; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Himani Sarkar

[GeneChing]

And I often look 'weak and dishevelled, and almost bald with grey, thinning hair' Well, maybe not that grey but definitely thinning. :o


Jet Li looks in much better health alongside Jack Ma at Alibaba chairman’s awards ceremony (https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2182124/jet-li-looks-much-better-health-alongside-jack-ma-alibaba-chairmans)
Martial arts legend in fine fettle at Rural Teacher Awards in Sanya
Li caused concern among fans with his frail appearance in 2018
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 15 January, 2019, 2:11pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 15 January, 2019, 2:19pm
Nicolas Atkin
https://twitter.com/nicoscmp

https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2019/01/15/1b430a46-1885-11e9-8ff8-c80f5203e5c9_image_hires_141858.jpg?itok=u67JDQwr

Jet Li has given his legion of fans an early present ahead of the Lunar New Year after appearing to be in much better health at an awards ceremony alongside Jack Ma in Sanya.

The martial arts superstar, who suffers from hyperthyroidism, caused concern last year after a photo of him looking frail went viral.

But on Monday night, Li was pictured chatting and smiling with Ma – chairman of the Alibaba Group, which owns the South China Morning Post – at the 2018 Rural Teacher Awards, an event launched by the Jack Ma Foundation, in Sanya, Hainan province.

https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2019/01/15/d5680f56-1877-11e9-8ff8-c80f5203e5c9_1320x770_141858.jpg
Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, with Jet Li at the Rural Teacher Awards, an event launched by the Jack Ma Foundation, in Sanya. Photo Imaginechina

The 55-year-old Li was sporting his old black hair, with some trendy black-rimmed glasses and a cool dark blue denim jacket, as he cut a low-key presence.

His appearance was in stark contrast to a May 2018 picture that showed him visiting a temple in Chengdu looking weak and dishevelled, and almost bald with grey, thinning hair.

Hyperthyroidism is a rare condition that accelerates the body’s metabolism, causing unintentional weight loss and a rapid or irregular heartbeat.

Such were the fears for his health, the Lethal Weapon 4 and Kiss of the Dragon star took to Facebook to reassure his fans he was “feeling great”.

https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2019/01/15/d501c14c-1877-11e9-8ff8-c80f5203e5c9_972x_141858.jpg
Jet Li at the presentation ceremony of the 2018 Rural Teacher Awards. Photo Imaginechina

His manager, Steven Chasman, also said “there’s nothing wrong with him, there’s no life-threatening illness, he’s in great shape”.

“If you took a picture of me at the wrong angle and wrong time of the day, I could look frail as well,” Chasman added.

Li had also sat alongside Ma at last year’s awards, and the difference is plain to see, with Li looking in much better health this time around.

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2019/01/15/be919c1c-1880-11e9-8ff8-c80f5203e5c9_1320x770_141858.JPG
Jet Li and Jack Ma at last year’s Rural Teacher Awards ceremony. Photo: TopPhoto/Alamy Live News

Romeo Must Die star Li was in the front row again with former teacher Ma to watch all of the evening’s festivities on Monday.

Guests were treated to performances and speeches from Chinese celebrities such as singer Zhang Yuning, comedian Song Xiaobao, and former Chinese volleyball star Hui Ruoqi.

Talk show host and musician Gao Xiaosong also gathered award winners and celebrities alike to take a group selfie.

And Li was all smiles when he took to the stage during the show to present prizes to some of the award-winning teachers.

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2019/01/15/c63bb4f2-1880-11e9-8ff8-c80f5203e5c9_1320x770_141858.jpg
Chinese volleyball player Hui Ruoqi speaks to village teachers. Photo Imaginechina
Li, who will feature in Disney’s live action remake of Mulan next year, is good friends with Ma – the two starred together in 2017 short film Gong Shou Dao.

Ma, the billionaire founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, plays the role of an unbeatable martial artist who gets the better of Li and other martial arts legends such as Donnie Yen and Wu Jing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfS9Uf5SKu8

Ma, who announced last year he would be stepping down as chairman of Alibaba in September 2019, has awarded prizes to rural teachers in Sanya every year since 2015.

The 54-year-old also gave a speech on stage at the awards ceremony and hosted a “Back to the Classroom” event on Sunday as part of the celebrations.

THREADS
Li Lian Jie (Jet Li) (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?8290-Li-Lian-Jie-(Jet-Li))
Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)

[GeneChing]

JANUARY 18, 2019 1:04AM PT
Alibaba Pictures Buys Into Chinese Director Han Han’s Film Studio (https://variety.com/2019/film/news/alibaba-pictures-shanghai-tingdong-han-han-green-book-1203111633/)
By REBECCA DAVIS

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/the-continent-w020140710276065000528.jpg?w=1000&h=563&crop=1
"The Continent," directed by Chinese racer and blogger Han Han
CREDIT: COURTESY OF DISTRIBUTION WORKSHOP

Alibaba Pictures confirmed that it has invested an undisclosed amount in Chinese celebrity blogger-turned-film director Han Han’s Shanghai Tingdong Film. Han’s upcoming “Pegasus” is one of the most anticipated films of the year in China.

Alibaba Pictures, part of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is now the second-largest stakeholder in Tingdong. It has a 13.1% stake, according to Chinese finance publication Caixin.

The deal is a “long-term strategic partnership that covers content production, distribution and marketing, merchandise and artist management,” Alibaba told Variety on Thursday. It falls under the umbrella of a new initiative launched in November called the “Jin Cheng Co-Production Plan” — with “jin cheng” roughly translating in English to “golden orange.”

Under this plan, Alibaba intends to co-produce 20 films over the next five years with various top production teams. The films will be released during China’s four busiest movie-going times: Chinese New Year (around January-February), the summer, the National Day holiday period in October and at the end of the year.

A race-car driver who rose to fame as a satirical blogger and published his first bestselling novel at 17, Han, now 37, was hailed in his younger days as the voice of the post-Tiananmen generation of Chinese youth. He shifted to movies in 2014 with “The Continent,” a road-trip comedy that marked his first turn as screenwriter and director.

He established Tingdong in 2015. The company has since produced five films that brought in about $355 million (RMB2.4 billion), Caixin said. The titles include “Duckweed,” a 2017 Chinese New Year hit written and directed by Han that grossed more than RMB1 billion ($148 million).

Its latest feature, “Pegasus,” is scheduled for release Feb. 5, the first day of Chinese New Year celebrations, and already seems poised to beat out most of the competition. More than 280,000 people have indicated on ticketing platform Maoyan that they want to see the film, making it the most second-most hotly anticipated title out of the whopping 13 films lined up for release that same day.

This is the third round of financing obtained by Tingdong since Han deployed a modest RMB15.2 million ($2.2 million) of startup capital. In February 2016, the company received tens of millions of yuan from Puhua Capital. And in October 2017, it received a $45.8 million (RMB310 million) joint investment from Bona Film, Chenhai Capital, and a Shanghai-based cultural center, the Beijing News cited the Tianyan business database as showing. The joint investment represented a 15.5% stake at the time, the Beijing News said, indicating that the company’s valuation had already reached $295 million by then (RMB2 billion).

Information from Tianyan shows that on Jan. 9, Tingdong brought in Li Jie, senior VP of Alibaba Pictures and head of Alibaba’s ticketing platform Tao Piaopiao, as a company director. Han Han currently has 14 companies other than Tingdong registered in his name, ranging from film and TV outfits to cultural communications and tech, Tianyan shows.


The first film to be released under Alibaba’s “Jin Cheng” plan is “Peppa Pig Celebrates Chinese New Year,” a co-production with Entertainment One that will hit theaters on Feb. 5 as well. Next in the plan’s lineup will be a 2020 fantasy suspense movie whose Chinese title translates to “The Assassination of a Novelist.” A co-production with Huace Media and Beijing Free Whale Pictures, it will be directed by Lu Yang, best known for the 2014 martial arts movie “Brotherhood of Blades” and its 2017 sequel.

Alibaba’s investment in Tingdong comes at the start of what will be a difficult year for the local Chinese film industry, which faces massive production slowdowns and uncertainties because of new tax regulations and cautious investors. But losses for the Chinese industry’s smaller players may create opportunity for Hollywood, and for China’s best-capitalized players.

Last week, an Alibaba producer announced that Golden Globe-winning “Green Book” would get a China release sometime this year but did not reveal an exact date, Chinese state media reported. Alibaba describes itself as an investor in the film, though its name was not on the credits when the film premiered in September at the Toronto festival.

“It is such an amazing picture, which includes humorous dialogues, excellent acting performance, and touching friendship,” Alibaba Pictures president Zhang Wei said, according to the Chinese state broadcaster’s English-language channel CGTN. “We are so honored to participate in the course of co-production, as well as to introduce it to the Chinese audience.”

More on Peppa Pig (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71112-Year-of-the-Pig-2019&p=1312089#post1312089) & Brotherhood of Blades (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70222-Brotherhood-of-Blades-2).

THREADS
Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
Chollywood Rising (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising)

[GeneChing]

JANUARY 23, 2019 10:02PM PT
Alibaba Lends $100 Million to Huayi Bros. in Film Investment Expansion (https://variety.com/2019/film/news/alibaba-huayi-film-investment-100-million-loan-1203116461/)
By PATRICK FRATER
Asia Bureau Chief

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/youth-tiff.jpg?w=1000&h=562&crop=1
CREDIT: TIFF

Alibaba Pictures Group, the film business arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has struck a strategic cooperation deal with leading film studio Huayi Bros. The deal includes a $103 million (RMB700 million) loan to Huayi.

Alibaba Pictures said the agreement was part of its recently announced strategy to be involved in major movies aimed for release during China’s four yearly holiday periods: Chinese New Year (around January-February), the summer, National Day celebrations in October, and end of the year. The strategy, dubbed the Jin Cheng Co-Production Project, runs for five years. (“Jin Cheng” translates roughly into English as “Golden Orange.”)

The deal further expands the power and influence of deep-pocketed Internet platforms, such as Alibaba and Tencent, over the Chinese film industry. Alibaba and companies owned by founder Jack Ma have been significant minority shareholders in Huayi since 2014, and increased their positions again in 2015.

The new deal with Huayi runs for five years and commits the studio to delivering 10 films in which Asian Union, a subsidiary of Alibaba Pictures, can be a co-investor and co-distributor. The two companies also agreed to work together on talent development, film marketing and merchandising through Alibaba’s Tao Piaopiao and Beacon platforms.

The five-year loan, provided at China’s five-year base rate, will be used by Huayi as working capital and for company operations. As security for the loan, Huayi is providing share pledges, rights to returns from a film fund, and “unlimited joint and several guarantees provided by two major shareholders.” That appears to be a reference to Huayi founders and principals Dennis and James Wang.

Last week, Alibaba cited its Jin Cheng film investment plan as the reason behind its move to take a 13% stake in the Tingdong Film company controlled by celebrity race car driver-turned-blogger and filmmaker Han Han (“The Continent,” “Duckweed”). His new movie, “Pegasus,” is one of the most anticipated of the upcoming Chinese New Year season. Alibaba also recently invested in “Green Book” and “A Dog’s Journey,” the sequel to hit “A Dog’s Purpose.”

Huayi, in business as a private sector leader for over 20 years, has been behind hit films including the “Detective Dee” fantasy-action franchise and a string of movies by Feng Xiaogang (“Youth,” “I Am Not Madame Bovary”). It was also the Chinese partner of Hollywood independent STX Entertainment until the deal ran out at the end of December.

On Thursday morning, Huayi Bros shares climbed 6.6% to RMB4.85 on the news of the deal with Alibaba Pictures, whose own shares were little changed at HK$1.29 apiece.

THREADS
Chollywood rising (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising)
Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)

[GeneChing]

...China! ;)


FEBRUARY 25, 2019 9:08PM PT
U.S. Drama ‘Green Book’ Touted as Oscar Win for China (https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/green-book-china-oscar-win-1203149609/)
By PATRICK FRATER and BECKY DAVIS

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/8u02_d003_00167r.jpg?w=1000&h=563&crop=1
CREDIT: PATTI PERRET

Chinese companies have been quick to claim their share of Oscar glory since Sunday’s ceremony, despite an awards season that largely shut out films from or about Asia, including “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Shoplifters.”

Alibaba Pictures, the heavily loss-making film financing and production arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is busily talking up its involvement in best picture winner “Green Book.” The production company boarded the movie as an investor alongside Participant Media, Dreamworks Pictures and Amblin Partners (of which Alibaba is a minority owner) last summer. The film was nominated for five Oscars and won three Sunday, including best original screenplay and best actor in a supporting role. It will hit Chinese theaters on Friday.

“Even though Alibaba Pictures is a relatively new entrant into Hollywood, we have a track record of choosing quality projects that not only have high entertainment value, but also have positive messages we believe in,” said Zhang Wei, president of Alibaba Pictures. The company also made investments in two other awards contenders, “Capernaum” and “On the Basis of Sex.”

Another Chinese player, Perfect World Entertainment, which has interests stretching from games to movies, claimed its share of reflected glory with “BlacKkKlansman” (six nominations, including one win in the adapted screenplay category) and “First Man” (four nominations, including one win for best visual effects). Both were co-funded by Perfect World through its five-year finance deal with Universal Pictures.

China’s propaganda apparatus has gone a step further, including several Oscar winners that have Chinese involvement of some kind as examples of Chinese excellence. On Monday, China’s state-owned news agency Xinhua pronounced Pixar-produced “Bao” a Chinese-centric Oscars triumph.

“The short is written and directed by Chinese-born Canadian director Domee Shi,” who, Xinhua helpfully explained, “is the first woman and first Chinese writer and director of a Pixar short.” The news agency noted that “Bao” beat “One Small Step,” a “Chinese-American short film, directed by Zhang Shaofu…[which] tells the story of a young Chinese-American protagonist who dreams of being an astronaut.” In the documentary category, Xinhua claimed Chinese success through winner “Free Solo,” directed by Jimmy Chin and Elisabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, and through nominee “Minding the Gap,” directed by Chinese-American Liu Bing.

While there is much celebration on Chinese social media that “Bao” – a touching, realistic story about Chinese food and family – won such a high-profile accolade, several nationalistic state media reports champion a narrative that the wins, despite originating in other countries, are wins for China itself. The reports play up an old but recently much more prominent idea that people with Chinese heritage all over the world are connected to China by their ethnic identity. “Each of them is connected to China in its own way,” said Xinhua.

“It is a remarkable success given [U.S. President] Trump’s relentless China bashing,” said another commentator.

Beyond the rhetoric, however, there is increasing industrial synchronization between Hollywood and China. “The 91st Academy Awards can be viewed as the starting point for a new period of growing influence for China in the international film industry,” said Xinhua. The assertion is only inaccurate in that the movement quietly started several years ago.

The current dynamics are subtly different from those made in the 2012-2016 period, when Chinese companies were making aggressive and highly visible moves at the corporate level, like Alibaba and Wanda’s serious discussions about buying a piece of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Wanda bought Legendary Entertainment and unsuccessfully bid $1 billion for Dick Clark Productions. Video platform Le Vision/Le Eco made lavish slate announcements in Hollywood as recently as 2016, before gravity and Chinese regulators dragged them back to reality.

However, what has replaced that five-year surge of Chinese mad money has been a quieter drive to invest, learn, and integrate China into Hollywood. The initiative has been conducted by a smaller number of companies – Alibaba Pictures, Tencent, and Perfect World – which each have long-term game plans and have quietly opened offices in L.A.

Perfect World’s deal with Universal is largely a passive investment, but the company is simultaneously behaving like a Hollywood indie and developing its own material and scripts. (In China, Perfect World is further partnered with Hollywood names Village Roadshow and WME in Perfect Village Entertainment, a local production venture.)

“Both luck and persistence are very important. Alibaba Pictures will do everything in its power to support every young director to go global and vie for the Oscars,” said chairman and CEO of Alibaba Pictures Fan Luyan.

THREADS
The Academy Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?20798-The-Academy-Awards)
Bao (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69387-Dim-Sum-dian-xin&p=1308311#post1308311)
Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
Chollywood rising (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising)

[GeneChing]

A New Generation of Philanthropy in China (https://www.barrons.com/articles/a-new-generation-of-philanthropy-in-china-51553616001?mod=hp_LATEST)
March 26, 2019 12:00 p.m. ET

https://images.barrons.com/im-58680?width=1260&aspect_ratio=1.5
From left: Lawrence Chan, Niu Gensheng, Dee Dee Chan, Jet Li, Jack Ma, Li Ka-shing. ILLUSTRATION BY GLUEKIT; SOURCE IMAGES: GETTY IMAGES AND BLOOMBERG

In Hong Kong, home to some of the richest people in the world, philanthropist Dee Dee Chan is making sure her generation learns how to give back.

In 2014, Chan, who is in her 30s, started a group for her peers—young people from families with at least US$500 million in assets who play an active role in their families’ businesses—to learn about philanthropy and to put it into practice. The hope is to “raise the ‘future generals’ who will make a huge impact on society through their own charitable efforts,” she says.

Chan is the granddaughter of billionaire Chan Chak Fu, who ran a global hotel and real estate business. Today, she’s managing director at Park Lane Capital Holdings, formed in 2007 from the fortune made by her father, Lawrence Chan, who developed and operated hotels and real estate projects.

She’s also director of the Seal of Love Charitable Foundation, a foundation started by her father in 2010, which donated 80 million Hong Kong dollars (US$10.2 million) in 2017 to the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to support an industry that has become a growing employment sector for the underprivileged in Southeast Asia.

The six or seven core members in each of the two chapters of Chan’s Next Generational Organization (NGO, for short) contribute to a collective pot that they allocate as a group, traveling twice a year for field visits to grassroots nonprofits in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. “The point is really to make mistakes early together and also have a forum in which we can actually do this together,” Chan says.

Lawrence Chan, 65, says his daughter’s NGO chapters will redefine philanthropy, as his generation—including Hong Kong’s wealthiest man and philanthropist, Li Ka-shing—is “starting to fade away.”


“ The point is to have a forum in which we can actually do this together. ”

—Dee Dee Chan
Great fortunes have been made in Asia in the past decade. But as the region’s riches have swelled, and as a younger generation emerges, China’s wealthy are increasingly seeking to maintain their family legacies and to give back. Groups have formed to encourage collaboration and education, including the China Global Philanthropy Institute, founded by three Chinese philanthropists—Niu Gensheng, He Qiaonyu, and Ye Qingjun—along with U.S. billionaires Bill Gates and Ray Dalio. Jack Ma, through the Alibaba Foundation, meanwhile, has sponsored the biannual Xin Philanthropy Conference since 2016.

Ma represents a newer, more visible wave of philanthropists who are trained abroad, globally engaged, and in touch with the concepts of philanthropy, says Anthony Saich, director of the Ash Center at Harvard, which runs the China Philanthropy Project. But there are a rising number of individual philanthropists within China who are having a profound influence, notably Niu Gensheng, a billionaire born to extreme poverty who made a fortune as the founder of China Mengniu Dairyin Inner Mongolia. Niu, 61, began the Lao Niu Foundation in 2004 to support the environment, cultural education, and development of the philanthropic sector.

One strategy that the Lao Niu Foundation is using to boost philanthropy is to train nonprofit professionals, “so that they’re regarded as professionals, just as public officials and private-sector individuals are,” says Melissa Berman, president of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, which is aiding the foundation.

The One Foundation, founded by Chinese actor Jet Li, is also helping to strengthen nonprofits by being transparent about what they fund, and which outcomes they achieve, Berman says.

While Niu and others have turned to the West for inspiration and practical advice, Rob Rosen, a director at the Gates Foundation, expects philanthropy in China to remain uniquely Chinese.

China’s philanthropists will want to know whether their funds are “being directed toward important issues in a deeply thoughtful way, and if they are taking an appropriate level of risk to really lead to bold change,” Rosen says. “They’re definitely on the pathway there.”


THREADS
Jet Li’s ONE Foundation (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?36920-Jet-Li%92s-ONE-Foundation)
Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
Chinese Tycoons, CEOs & Tuhao (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao)

[GeneChing]

https://staticx-tuner.zacks.com//images/articles/main/3e/43.jpg
Image: Bigstock

Alibaba Vs. Amazon: Who Will Take Over the World First (https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/372664/alibaba-vs-amazon-who-will-take-over-the-world-first)
Daniel Laboe April 08, 2019
AMZN BABA

Trades from $1

Alibaba (BABA - Free Report) initially made a name for itself in the US as the go-to place to buy cheap knock-offs of NBA jerseys and designer shoes. Alibaba is now the principal e-commerce retailer in China on a scale with Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , dominating 58% of the total e-commerce market in China, according to eMarketer. With a total addressable market (TAM) coming close $5 trillion, which makes up China’s overall retail industry. BABA captured 636 million annual customers in 2018, up a whole 23% from the previous year. This company is growing at an exponential rate and is striving to continue until their TAM is reached.

Alibaba vs. Amazon

Alibaba is often considered the Amazon of China; they both control the e-commerce space in their geographic regions and are both quickly becoming the largest corporations in the world. Despite their seemingly identical product/service proposition, these companies have very different approaches. The biggest difference is the way in which they sell their online products.

Amazon sells most of its products to customers directly through its extensive warehouse network where the goods are housed. Alibaba, on the other hand, acts like a middleman between merchants and consumers. Amazon makes most of its money from product margins while Alibaba’s collects revenue through something called a merchant fee which places sellers’ products higher up on Alibaba's search lists.

Financial Comparison

Amazon posted 2018 revenue of $232 billion, more than 4 times the $53 billion in revenue that BABA achieved in 2018. The fascinating part is that AMZN and BABA had bottom-lines that were less than $1 billion apart, $10.1 billion and $9.2 billion respectively. Giving Amazon a 4.3% net margin and Alibaba a 17% net margin. This enormous margin difference for comparable businesses would be a red flag under most circumstances but what you need to consider are the costs associated with of the different business models as well as the geographical location that these companies operate. Alibaba operated a business with much less overhead than Amazon considering that their main functions is just connect buyers and sellers, they don’t need the extensive warehouse network along with the storage costs of carrying as much inventory as Amazon does. The cost of operating a business in China is much less than operating one in the US considering that the cost of living is substantially lower. Amazon also makes it their priority to provide the consumer with the lowest prices so a lot of their economies-to-scale are being passed along to the consumer. These factors aside, seeing Alibaba’s margins being 4x that of Amazon is quite an attractive figure especially considering it’s trading at much cheaper multiples.

Alibaba has seen 44% annualized top-line growth over the past 5 years while Amazon only saw 27% annualized growth over the same period. 86% of Alibaba’s revenue is being driven by its core e-commerce business with other revenue streams like cloud computing and subscription entertainment services are growing; e-commerce is still what this firm primarily relies on. Amazon’s revenue streams are a little more diversified, only 71% of revenue is from online sales, brick-and-mortar operations making up a growing 7% of sales (driven by their Whole Foods acquisition), web services (AWS) make up 11% of their income and the fasted growing segment is AMZN’s advertising revenues. The diversification of Amazon’s revenue drivers makes it a safer bet than a less diverse Alibaba, though BABA is growing its noncore businesses at an expanding rate. Below is a 2-year return chart comparing BABA (blue) and AMZN (red) performance.

https://staticx-tuner.zacks.com/images/zadmin_tuner_image/amzn%20vs%20baba.jpg

Valuations

Amazon’s continuing success story in the United States has been an inspiration for small businesses across the world. From Jeff Bezo’s garage to being in the top 5 biggest tech companies in the world. People love the company and the stock, and this is likely part of the reason AMZN is trading at 68x forward earnings. This P/E might have been a reasonable valuation if the company had just turned a profit but they have been profitable for 5 years. It’s P/E-growth (PEG) ratio is 1.95 which is a much more reasonable valuation considering the industry average is 1.79. The growth priced in to Amazon is colossal, with EPS growth expected to be 32.37% and 49.52% for 2019 and 2020 respectively. There is too much uncertainty with these priced-in growth numbers for my liking. At this moment I wouldn’t be comfortable jumping into a tech company with a 1.63 beta and a 68x P/E in such uncertain economic conditions. I would wait for a dip before putting on a position. Watch for earnings on the 25th of this month for more clues into the future of this firm. If they can continue to grow margins I would feel more comfortable going long in AMZN. $1,600 has been my price point to consider buying since the end of last year and I stick by that. AMZN – Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

https://staticx-tuner.zacks.com/images/zadmin_tuner_image/amzn(10).jpg

Alibaba is trading at much more competitive multiples, with a price of 36x forward earnings and a P/E-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 1.29. This firm doesn’t have nearly as much EPS growth priced into the stock because of economic instability brought by both the trade war and poor economic numbers coming out of China. The beta for this stock exceeds 2, which is a small red flag when economic stability is questionable, but I see a larger upside to BABA especially considering the unprecedented 332% top-line growth in the last 5 years. I also understand their growing revenue diversity as a huge opportunity for this business to take market share in different categories that they don’t already dominate. I would look to buy this stock sub $170 with a price target north of $200. BABA – Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

https://staticx-tuner.zacks.com/images/zadmin_tuner_image/baba(4).jpg


Jack Ma. Please sponsor Kung Fu Tai Chi (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/)! It would be a tiny drop in the bucket for you and we know you love Kung Fu & Tai Chi!

[GeneChing]

I've done 996 weeks (who hasn't?) but I can't imagine sustaining that for very long.


APRIL 12, 2019 / 4:35 AM / 3 DAYS AGO
Alibaba founder defends overtime work culture as 'huge blessing' (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-tech-labour/alibaba-founder-defends-overtime-work-culture-as-huge-blessing-idUSKCN1RO1BC?utm_source=applenews)
Josh Horwitz
3 MIN READ

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Alibaba Group founder and billionaire Jack Ma has defended the grueling overtime work culture at many of China’s tech companies, calling it a “huge blessing” for young workers.

http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20190412&t=2&i=1376231189&r=LYNXNPEF3B0Z8
FILE PHOTO: Alibaba Group co-founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma attends Alibaba Group's 11.11 Singles' Day global shopping festival in Shanghai, China, November 12, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

The e-commerce magnate weighed into a debate about work-life balance and the overtime hours demanded by some companies as the sector slows after years of breakneck growth.

In a speech to Alibaba employees, Ma defended the industry’s ‘996’ work schedule, which refers to the 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. workday, six days a week.

“I personally think that being able to work 996 is a huge blessing,” he said in remarks posted on the company’s WeChat account.

“Many companies and many people don’t have the opportunity to work 996,” Ma said. “If you don’t work 996 when you are young, when can you ever work 996?”

The issue has fueled an online debate and protests on some coding platforms, where workers have swapped examples of excessive overtime demands at some companies.

Ma, a former English teacher who co-founded Alibaba in 1999 and has become one of China’s richest people, said he and early employees regularly worked long hours.

“In this world, everyone wants success, wants a nice life, wants to be respected,” Ma said.

“Let me ask everyone, if you don’t put out more time and energy than others, how can you achieve the success you want?”

Ma referred to the tech industry today where some people are without jobs, or working at companies in search of revenue or facing closure.

“Compared to them, up to this day, I still feel lucky, I don’t regret (working 12 hour days), I would never change this part of me,” he said.

This month activists on Microsoft’s GitHub, the online code repository site, launched a project titled “996.ICU” where tech workers listed Alibaba among the companies ranked as having some of the worst working conditions.

On Thursday, an opinion piece published in a state newspaper argued that 996 violated China’s Labor Law, which stipulates that average work hours cannot exceed 40 hours a week.

“Creating a corporate culture of ‘encouraged overtime’ will not only not help a business’ core competitiveness, it might inhibit and damage a company’s ability to innovate,” the unnamed author wrote in the People’s Daily.

Reporting by Josh Horwitz; editing by Darren Schuettler

[SPJ]

Alipay and wechat pay are main stream payment methods in China.

[GeneChing]

MartialArtsMart.com (https://www.martialartsmart.com/) is a small biz. Wondering if this would be an effective platform now.


JULY 23, 2019 / 4:35 AM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
Alibaba welcomes U.S. small businesses to sell globally on its platform (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tech-alibaba-usa/alibaba-welcomes-u-s-small-businesses-to-sell-globally-on-its-platform-idUSKCN1UI1DO)
Melissa Fares
3 MIN READ

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd (BABA.N) will now allow small businesses in the United States to sell on Alibaba.com, the company said on Tuesday, an effort to tap into the business-to-business e-commerce market and fend off fierce competition from rivals like Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).

https://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20190723&t=2&i=1411059857&w=1200&r=LYNXNPEF6M0SF
FILE PHOTO: A logo of Alibaba Group is seen at an exhibition during the World Intelligence Congress in Tianjin, China May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

Previously, U.S.-based businesses were only able to buy items on Alibaba.com.

Roughly one-third of buyers on Alibaba.com are U.S.-based. More than 95% of sellers come from China. This plan will open up markets to U.S. merchants in countries including India, Brazil and Canada. U.S. merchants will also be able to sell to other U.S.-based businesses.

Alibaba’s pitch to U.S. small businesses comes as the company faces lean e-commerce revenue growth, which has been further threatened by the U.S.-China trade spat and increased competition from rivals such as recently listed Pinduoduo Inc (PDD.O).

Alibaba, which does not sell inventory of its own, hopes to win over local U.S. businesses as their marketplace platform of choice by offering small- and medium-sized businesses global selling power. Alibaba highlighted its interest in winning over manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors.

Last month, the company launched an English-language website for its Tmall Global marketplace aimed at merchants, in an attempt to double the number of international brands on the platform to 40,000 in the next three years.

Rival Amazon, in addition to selling its own inventory, allows third-party vendors to list products for sale on its website. Those vendors may store their products in Amazon’s warehouses or ship directly to customers.

The business-to-business e-commerce market (B2B) is valued at $23.9 trillion, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. The business-to-consumer e-commerce market is valued at $3.8 trillion.

Alibaba said U.S. sellers will have to pay a membership fee of roughly $2,000 to get their online stores on Alibaba.com up and running, in addition to any marketing and advertising costs. Amazon charges third-party sellers by the month or per item.

“You get to compete and act like a multinational company in a way you’ve never had the tools or technology to be able to do so,” John Caplan, head of North America B2B at Alibaba Group, told Reuters.

The United States is the first market where the company is focusing on globalizing supply, Caplan said, but Alibaba has a “very clear approach to other markets.”

Reporting by Melissa Fares in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler

[GeneChing]

Alibaba: There's a trade war going on? Could've fooled us – just check out these swollen digits (https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/08/16/alibaba_results/)
Cloud biz still dwarfed by retail but everything's up
By Paul Kunert 16 Aug 2019 at 17:00

https://regmedia.co.uk/2018/08/29/shutterstock_201537446.jpg?x=442&y=293&crop=1

Alibaba, China's nearest equivalent to Amazon, is weathering the "uncertain economic" landscape caused in part by the "trade war" between the US and Middle Kingdom governments.

The group reported Q1 revenues of ¥114.924bn ($16.751bn) for the three months to 30 June fiscal '20, up a whopping 42 per cent year-on-year. There was an upward swing recorded across all of its divisions, though the online retail, food delivery services and cloud services were the big growth drivers.

The Core division – comprised of China retail, wholesale, international commerce, logistics and local consumer services – was up 44 per cent to ¥99.544bn ($14.133bn/ £11.63bn). The retail element brought in ¥75.601bn ($11.013bn/ £8.835bn)

The relatively affluent middle class in China, 300 million people living in large cities, continues to be one of the "big secular" trends that Alibaba has tapped into, said exec chairman Joe Tsai on an earnings call.

"We have talked about the desire by these consumers to upgrade the quality of product they buy, especially the pursuit of brand and imported goods," he added.

Clearly Apple might have something to say about that, having watched its iPhone sales drop by double digits in the first half of its year. But that's another story.

Tsai also spoke of the "rise of urbanisation" happening in third, fourth and fifth-tier cities in China, with roughly 500 million people in these locales with a consumption economy of $2.3 trillion that is forecast to rocket to $7 trillion by the end of 2030. Chinese companies tend to plan for the longer term rather than being driven by the whims of Wall Street.

Alibaba had 674 million active monthly users in its Core unit, up 20 million on the prior quarter.

Cloud Computing remains a fraction of the retail operation but is growing fast, up 66 per cent year-on-year to ¥7.787bn ($1.105bn). This was based on "an increase in average revenue per customer," said Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang.

The fourth largest cloud provider worldwide didn't break out public-versus-private cloud sales figures, but said private jumped 250 per cent year-on-year.

Zhang said the work is to boost "high-valued added service while rationalising... commodity products". He added that it is still beefing up investment in "talent and technology infrastructure".

Alibaba has 52 availability zones made up of one or more data centres in 19 regions around the world.

The Digital Media and Entertainment unit was up 6 per cent to ¥6.312bn ($896m) and revenue from the Innovation initiative and others jumped 21 per cent to ¥1.281bn ($182m).

Group operating profit came in at ¥24.375bn ($3.46bn) versus an operating loss of ¥4.863bn ($690m)a year earlier. Net income was ¥21.24bn ($3bn). ®

Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba) is up? At least someone is benefitting from the trade war. (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71299-Trade-War) :(

[GeneChing]

If Jack really wanted to promote Chinese martial arts, he could donate .00001% of his net worth and keep Kung Fu Tai Chi (https://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html) afloat for some time. I'm just sayin...

Jack. Call me. Please?


What Is Jack Ma's Net Worth? (https://www.thestreet.com/lifestyle/jack-ma-net-worth-15096018)
Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, grew rich on the internet and China's embrace of technology. Here is his story.

Brian O'Connell
Sep 19, 2019 12:03 PM EDT

TheStreet

Jack Ma is reportedly worth $38.7 billion as of 2019.

As the founder and executive chairman of China-based Alibaba Group (BABA - Get Report) makes his way into retirement, the multi-billionaire can expect that amount of money to grow substantially in the coming year.

That's what happens when you lead one of the largest e-commerce companies the world has ever seen - even if you retire, as Ma is doing this month.

Here's the story of Jack Ma's wealth and his rise as the founder of Alibaba, one of the largest companies in the world, which set the record as the biggest public stock offering ever, at $25 billion, only five years ago.

It's a story where Ma gets to found his own worldwide business empire and leave his own unique personal stamp on the proceedings every step of the way.

The Rise of Jack Ma
Jack Ma, once an English teacher and later a struggling entrepreneur, walks away from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as the 19th wealthiest individual in the world, and lands just behind India's Mukesh Ambani as the richest person in all of Asia.

It was only 20 years ago that Ma was laboring out of his small apartment to bring Alibaba to life, which he did in monumental fashion, creating a business-to-business technology behemoth worth $460 billion.

Since Ma owns a 5.3% stake in Alibaba, his wealth will continue to expand, and any stock he owns, or even sells, will likely add to his substantial wealth.

That surely wasn't the future Ma or his family envisioned when he was born Sept. 10, 1964 in Hangzhou, China. Ma was a dedicated student right off the bat, taking the time to learn English at a young age, and began his entrepreneurial career as a local tour guide who used his pay to take more classes, learn more English, and save for college.

His initial goal was to become an English teacher in Hangzhou, as the demand for learning the language from the Chinese locals expanded at a significant pace in the 1970s and 80s. After some fits and starts, Ma graduated from the Hangzhou Teacher's Institute and found work right away as an English teacher, a position that didn't last long as Ma set his sights on higher business goals.

In short order, Ma applied for a job as a manager at Kentucky Fried Chicken, which was expanding into China. Despite the availability of 23 management positions for 24 candidates, Ma didn't get the job.

He then set his sights on Harvard University, where he applied 10 times for admission to the prestigious Ivy League school. Each time, he received a rejection letter.

But fate has a way of intervening and while Jack Ma was traveling in the U.S. with an eye on Harvard, he began experimenting with the emerging internet and noticed the lack of a presence for Chinese-based companies, technologies and online commerce platforms.

Soon Ma opened his first company, Haibo Translation Agency, but his interest in the internet never waned. He decided to create a website that focused on China businesses and opportunities, and found that multiple investors from his home country were interested in the venture and wanted to become partners.

Intrigued, Ma opened his second company, called China Pages, registering the internet domain name in the U.S. Business grew and within three years the company was worth almost $1 million.

That was all Ma needed to know about the power and potential of the internet and in 1999, he opened Alibaba in his home city of Hangzhou. With Alibaba, Ma began pushing the concept of a China-based business-to-business online platform that connected buyers and sellers of all kinds of products and services, and soon was rewarded with a venture funding injection of $35 million.

Ma and Alibaba never looked back and by 2014, the company was worth $25 billion, as a result of the largest initial public offering in Wall Street History.

Alibaba grew in size and scope, and by 2018 had become the premiere online market place in China. The same year, Jack Ma announced he would retire in September, 2019, and be succeeded by Daniel Zhang, now the current chief executive officer at Alibaba.

Just how big is Alibaba as Jack Ma leaves the company this year? Put it this way: China's Singles Day has surpassed Black Friday as the world's biggest shopping day of the year, spurred higher by the impact Ma's company has had on the burgeoning Chinese economy.

Public and Private Investments
Jack Ma also blended a series of public and private investments into his wealth accumulation strategy.

In 2010, he established his own venture capital company, called Yunfeng Capital, with four partners. That gave Ma and his partners, known as the "Zhejiang Five" after their native province, the ability to focus his investments on exactly where he wanted them to be - on Chinese companies.

The firm quickly began seeding young, up-and-coming companies, especially in the healthcare, insurance, technology, and clean energy sectors, where Ma saw the most potential.

Ma also began making private investments through holding companies and private equity fund groups, mainly in commercial and residential real estate properties in Asia and Europe, along with select investments in private companies through Ma's Hangzhou Yunxi Investment Group (he owns 99% of the company.)

Ma also steered some of his ample capital into the Chinese entertainment sector, a favorite target, given Ma's personal propensity for music and film. One partnership, with Huayi Brothers, a theatrical film producer, gave Ma access to dozens of mainland film releases that he could profit from over the five-year timetable of the deal.

How Does Jack Ma Spend His Money?
One reason Jack Ma called it quits was that he said he wanted to spend more time on his charitable passion - the Jack Ma Foundation.

It's there where Ma spends most of his money. The foundation's charter is to beef up education, the environment and public health across the globe, a process that's well underway.

For example, the Jack Ma Foundation launched the Netpreneur charity that provides a charitable grant of $1 million to 10 different African entrepreneurs, so they can pursue the same dreams Jack Ma did. The Foundation has also set aside $14.6 million for educational needs in Tibet, and Alibaba's own foundation paid for the erection of over 1,000 new homes in Nepal after a devastating earthquake.

Ma does send some time and money on one of his favorite pastimes - performing live as a musician and entertainer. For Alibaba's 18th birthday celebration, Jack Ma rocked the house in a tribute to Michael Jackson. Ma also funded his own kung-fu movie, where he appeared as himself along with a host of celebrities, including Jet Li and Donnie Yen.

Jack Ma is also well known for his personal extravagance, especially when it comes to his time with Alibaba.

To celebrate his retirement from the company he founded, he held a huge "going away" party at a 60,000 seat soccer stadium.

Additionally, every year on "Ali Day," Ma presides over a mass marriage ceremony of over 100 couples who work for Alibaba. The ceremony doesn't give the marriages a "legal" stamp - it's just Ma's way of confirming the weddings of his employees and allows him to encourage the couples to be prosperous, have lots of kids, and live the Alibaba way.

No doubt, Jack Ma is a multi-faceted individual, and with Alibaba, he's left his personal stamp on the corporate landscape, while making tens of billions of dollars that he's taking with him as he departs from the business stage - for now.

[GeneChing]

Alibaba Aims to Serve 1 Billion Customers a Year by 2024 (https://www.barrons.com/articles/creative-planning-buys-low-fee-401-k-provider-51569351576)
By Evie Liu
Sept. 24, 2019 2:30 pm ET

https://images.barrons.com/im-110321?width=1260&size=1.5
STR/AFP/GettyImages

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba plans to nearly double the gross transactions on its platforms in the next five years. On the second day of the company’s 2019 investor day in Hangzhou, China, investors got a comprehensive picture of the future growth plan.

Alibaba management maintained its revenue guidance of 500 billion yuan for fiscal 2020. The company’s near-term goal is to increase annual active consumers from the current 730 million to over one billion in the next five years and nearly double its annual gross merchandise volume from 5.7 trillion yuan in fiscal 2019 to over 10 trillion yuan by 2024. Over the long term, Alibaba (ticker: BABA) wants to reach two billion global consumers by fiscal 2036, create 100 million jobs, and support over 10 million profitable small to medium businesses on its platforms.

The growth of Alibaba’s consumer-facing business should be largely supported by three drivers, the company said at the investor day event:

User growth. Alibaba added over 200 million users to its Chinese retail marketplace over the past two years, as well as 130 million active users on its international marketplaces. The company is now 85% penetrated in China’s developed areas and 40% penetrated in less developed areas, which suggests big room for growth still.

Category expansion. Alibaba’s digital ecosystem has become more powerful and the company plans to leverage the massive number of consumers on its more established platforms to help grow the relatively nascent areas. There are plenty of cross-selling opportunities between business segments, such as the core retail marketplace Taobao, food-delivery platform Ele.me, and digital payment tool Alipay. “It will be difficult for competition to catch up,” wrote Citibank analyst Alicia Yap in a Tuesday note.

Globalization. Alibaba is expanding to many international markets through acquisitions and local partnerships via platforms such as AliExpress, Lazada, and AliPay.

Alibaba management also updated investors on the latest developments of its different business areas.

Alibaba’s cloud unit AliCloud remains the dominant player in China with a 43% market share. Alicloud is expanding aggressively in the Asia Pacific region with presence in Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Macau. Given its regional expertise, AliCloud also is targeting companies from developed countries that want to enter the Chinese market. By controlling costs and improving efficiencies, AliCloud is seeing improved profit growth. Still, CFO Maggie Wu noted that profitability is not the first priority now, and the company expects a short-to-medium trade-off of profit margin for long-term strategic values.

Alibaba’s video-streaming website Youku saw 46% year-over-year growth in paying subscribers during the June quarter, driven by its improving original content production. Alibaba also owns an online ticketing platform for live events called Damai, which has over 70% of China’s market share as of 2018. Alibaba aims to provide online infrastructure for the “underdigitalized” entertainment industry in China, providing support services like finance, production, distribution, and venue management.

Alibaba’s digital finance subsidiary Ant Financial covers wealth management, micro financing, insurance, credit service, and digital payment platform Alipay. Over 740 million consumers and 28 million small businesses use Ant Financial for digital financing, according to Alibaba, and they have been using more of Ant Financial’s service offerings. About 80% of consumers are using more than three service categories—versus 70% disclosed last year—and 40% are using all five categories—versus 30% from last year. By the second quarter of 2019, Alipay had 900 million annual active users in China and 1.2 billion including global users. Currently, Alipay is accepted by offline merchants in 56 markets and has developed partnership with local e-wallets in 10 markets.

Alibaba’s logistics branch Cainiao now has a global parcel network Cainiao Guoguo with over 100 million annual users and a last-mile delivery network Cainiao Post with over 40,000 stations.

For Raymond James analyst Aaron Kessler, Alibaba remains his top Internet mega-cap pick. Kessler believes the continued solid growth in China’s e-commerce market will leave Alibaba—with a 60% market share—the biggest winner. The stock is also valued attractively at about 10.5 times Kessler’s forecast for Alibaba’s 2020 earnings. Kessler rates Alibaba shares as Buy with a target price of $280.

Write to Evie Liu at evie.liu@barrons.com

Now that Jack Ma has stepped down, I'm hoping he'll get back to more Kung Fu promotion. Imagine the power he has to do this now.

[GeneChing]

For anyone here too lazy to review this thread, here's some cliff notes.



Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma — the richest man in China — once starred in a kung fu movie his company produced. Here are 6 of his most extravagant moments. (https://www.businessinsider.com/jack-ma-alibaba-chairman-extravagant-moments-retirement-party-2019-9)
Taylor Nicole Rogers Sep 17, 2019, 10:10 AM

https://image.businessinsider.com/5d78110c2e22af1b95093557?width=1200&format=jpeg&auto=webp
Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma starred in a kung fu film produced by the company in 2017. Courtesy of Alibaba

Recently retired Alibaba chairman Jack Ma is "the most flamboyant tech founder on the planet," Business Insider's Sinead Baker recently wrote.

Under his leadership, Alibaba grew from a 17-person company operating out of Ma's apartment to a $460 billion empire.
But it wasn't just business for Ma. In his 20 years at the helm of Alibaba, Ma — the richest person in China — also starred in a kung fu film and officiated an annual mass employee wedding.

Ma's successor, meanwhile, Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang, is "slight and soft-spoken," according to Bloomberg.

Jack Ma is "the most flamboyant tech founder on the planet," Business Insider's Sinead Baker recently wrote.

To celebrate the end of his 20 years leading the online marketplace, Ma celebrated his retirement with a 60,000-person retirement party in an Olympic-sized stadium.

The days of seeing one of Alibaba's top executives act in a film and officiate weddings may be over, however. Ma's successor, Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang, keeps such a low profile that an employee's parent once mistook him for a janitor in Alibaba's headquarters, according to Bloomberg.

Keep reading to learn more about the most extravagant moments of Jack Ma's time at Alibaba.

Every year, Ma officiates a mass wedding for Alibaba employees in May.

https://image.businessinsider.com/5cd95867021b4c11b06a5bf5?width=700&format=jpeg&auto=webp
Jack Ma presides over an employee mass wedding of 102 couples. REUTERS/Stringer

At celebrations for "Ali Day" — the company's annual extravaganza in honor of the company's employees and their families — Ma always "marries" 102 couples that work for him, Business Insider previously reported.

The 2019 event was live-streamed on Youku, a video-sharing service owned by Alibaba. Ma drew criticism after encouraging the couples to have lots of sex and bear children.

The wedding isn't a legal ceremony, but rather a celebration of all the Alibaba couples who have gotten married over the past year.

Read more: Inside Alibaba's bizarre mass wedding for employees, which is presided over by Jack Ma

At Alibaba's 2017 annual party, Ma put on a performance while dressed as Micheal Jackson.


Yicai Global 第一财经
✔
@yicaichina
Jack Ma performs Michael Jackson dance on 2017 Alibaba Annual Party🤣

Embedded video (https://twitter.com/yicaichina/status/907095344902684672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5E tweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E907095344902684672&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fja ck-ma-alibaba-chairman-extravagant-moments-retirement-party-2019-9)
2,630
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Ma danced to a medley featuring clips from "Billie Jean" and "Dangerous" while wearing Jackson's iconic "Dangerous" costume, a video of the performance on Twitter shows.

Mid performance, Ma removed his mask to reveal his identity to the audience, who went wild.

He also took to the stage at a music festival in October 2017, where he and Chinese singer Li Jian performed for the audience.

https://image.businessinsider.com/5d780cda2e22af1f5a2c41ea?width=700&format=jpeg&auto=webp
Ma performs at his retirement party in September 2019. Courtesy of Alibaba

As Business Insider's Joe Ciolli reported in 2017, the festival was part of the Alibaba Cloud-hosted Computing Conference. Ma took to the stage in jeans and sunglasses and sang a combination of duets and solos.

The performance was a surprise to the audience, Business Insider previously reported.

Alibaba produced a kung fu movie in 2017 — and Ma starred in it.

https://image.businessinsider.com/5d7bbda72e22af136078d396?width=700&format=jpeg&auto=webp
Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group, speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 27, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

In the 20-minute film, Ma battles eight attackers with his tai chi skills, Business Insider previously reported. Over 100 million people watched the film online.

And then, of course, there was Alibaba's 60,000-person party in September 2019, which simultaneously celebrated Alibaba's 20-year anniversary and Jack Ma's retirement.

https://image.businessinsider.com/5d7813422e22af1ed100eb33?width=700&format=jpeg&auto=webp
Courtesy of Alibaba

The party was held in an Olympic stadium and featured a procession of employees reminiscent of "the Olympic Games' Parade of Nations," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Ma performed a rendition of Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" with a group of senior executives on a portable stage that was pulled around the arena, the Journal reported.

Read more: Inside Jack Ma's 60,000-person retirement party, which was held in an Olympic stadium and featured employee performances that made Ma cry

After the party, Ma gifted each Alibaba employee a bottle of chardonnay featuring a hologram of himself.


Matthew Brennan
@mbrennanchina
Jack Ma's special message in a bottle. Gift to #Alibaba staff for the company's 20th anniversary.

Embedded video (https://twitter.com/mbrennanchina/status/1172112073951571971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5 Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1172112073951571971&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fja ck-ma-alibaba-chairman-extravagant-moments-retirement-party-2019-9)
17.4K
4:37 AM - Sep 12, 2019
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8,528 people are talking about this

According to the Drinks Business, every employee — including interns — was given one of these bottles.

The wine was made at Ma's winery in France — a close look at the bottle's label in the video above shows the name of his winery.

To activate the hologram, recipients scan a QR code on their phone and then slide the device into a drawer in the box to make the bottle light up with a hologram of Ma, a video of the gift posted to Twitter shows. Ma delivers a brief message before dissolving into flames.

If you haven't seen Gong Shou Dao, click here. (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70541-Gong-Shou-Dao-(The-Art-of-Attack-and-Defence))

[GeneChing]

ASIA OCTOBER 16, 2019 11:00PM PT
Universal’s Beijing Resort to Partner With Alibaba on Digitization (https://variety.com/2019/film/news/universal-beijing-resort-alibaba-comcast-nbcuniversal-1203373766/)
By REBECCA DAVIS

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/kung-fu-panda-31.jpg?w=1000&h=563&crop=1
CREDIT: COURTESY OF 20TH CENTURY FOX

Amid fierce controversy about the leverage China has over U.S. entertainment firms with significant mainland operations, Universal Beijing Resort and Alibaba announced a strategic partnership Thursday to digitize the forthcoming theme park in China’s capital.

Facial recognition and the use of big data will be the norm at the new resort, which will use an Alibaba operating system for park management and operations, the companies said. For visitors, this means they will be able to use Alibaba’s facial-recognition technology to enter the park, access lockers and express lanes, and pay for merchandise and meals. They can also skip lines and order food via an Alibaba app. Tmall, Alibaba’s e-commerce platform, will work with the park to co-market products.

Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts made the trip to Beijing for Thursday’s announcement, marking the project’s importance for the company.

Roberts said that operating a park was about “making it fun and easy for our guests to enjoy their time with family and friends” as much as it was about the rides. “Our partnership with Alibaba will help us do exactly that,” he said.

Foreign companies in China must have a local partner in order to do business in the country and access its enormous market. Universal Beijing Resort is owned by Beijing International Resort Company, a joint venture between Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment Company and Universal Parks and Resorts, a unit of Comcast NBCUniversal.

The collaboration will allow for the enactment of a “multi-dimensional data-enabled operations management solution for the industry” and the establishment of a “truly digitized theme park,” said Daniel Zhang, Alibaba Group’s executive chairman and CEO. “The future of commerce is driven by technology and big data, and digitization will be the source of brand-new growth opportunities for all businesses.”

Located in the suburban outskirts of Beijing, the theme park was first announced in 2014; construction began in 2016. Its opening date has been pushed back twice from 2019 to 2020 and now 2021. Once fully built, it will be the largest Universal park in the world. It is the fifth Universal resort worldwide and the third in Asia.

On Saturday, the resort announced new details for the park’s layout. It will be divided between seven themed lands: “Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness,” “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” ”Transformers: Metrobase,” “Minion Land,” “Jurassic World Isla Nublar,” ”Hollywood” and “WaterWorld.”

“Our theme park will showcase the best Universal rides, as well as all-new, unique experiences specially created to reflect China’s rich cultural heritage,” said Universal Beijing Resort president and general manager Tom Mehrmann.

The “Kung Fu Panda” land will be a world first, and the “Transformers” section will feature an expanded story about the character Metrobase, who chooses Beijing as the site of a new headquarters.

The last two “Transformers” films have been bigger hits in China than in the U.S., with last year’s “Transformers: The Last Knight” earning $229 million in China – $99 million more than in U.S. – and 2014’s “Transformers: The Age of Extinction” grossing $320 million, outpacing its $245 million performance in the US.

The finished resort will feature a Universal CityWalk entertainment and retail complex and at least two official on-site hotels: the Universal Studios Grand Hotel and the NUO Resort Hotel, set to open in 2021. A new subway station for the park is also currently under construction.

Disney, which opened its Shanghai Disneyland in 2016, was recently the subject of harsh criticism in a controversial “South Park” episode that took the studio to task for giving in to Chinese censorship demands in exchange for market access.

THREADS
Chinese Theme Parks (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62642-Chinese-Theme-Parks)
Guy uses facial recognition software on his cat (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?34819-Guy-uses-facial-recognition-software-on-his-cat) (so delighted to find and ttt a facial recognition thread here. I anticipate that it will become quite relevant in future posts. :cool:)
Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)

[GeneChing]

Taylor Swift to Perform in China at Alibaba's Annual Shopping Gala (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/taylor-swift-perform-china-at-alibabas-annual-shopping-gala-1250353)
12:09 AM PDT 10/28/2019 by Patrick Brzeski

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2019/08/gettyimages-1170398722_copy.jpg
Noam Galai/Getty Images
Taylor Swift

The e-commerce company's televised Singles' Day shopping extravaganza regularly draws A-list U.S. stars and generates bigger sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined (last year's gala topped $30 billion in sales in 24 hours).
Taylor Swift is heading to China to perform at Alibaba Group's annual Singles' Day shopping extravaganza next month.

The pop star will perform at Shanghai's Mercedes-Benz Arena on the evening of Nov. 10, along with a lineup of prominent stars and personalities from China and other parts of Asia. Among the acts slated to shill online shopping for Alibaba are Chinese singer-songwriter and actress G.E.M., local pop star Hua Chenyu, Japanese singer Kana Hanazawa and over a dozen others.

More than a few U.S. sports and entertainment figures — including Scarlett Johansson, David Beckham, Mariah Carey and Daniel Craig — have flocked to the Alibaba-produced spectacle in years past to build their brands among Chinese consumers. But in recent months, U.S. celebrities' eagerness to please the Chinese government and the country's enormous consumer base have begun to be viewed with more skepticism by the U.S. public.

After Beijing's recent heavy-handed attempts to squash free speech beyond its borders — such as the NBA's serious travails over a general manager's single tweet of support for Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, and the erasure of South Park from the Chinese Internet because of a satirical episode — many U.S. politicians have questioned whether the Beijing regime's global political messaging should be so readily accommodated given its various ongoing human rights abuses.

Singles' Day was invented in the 1990s as an alternate to Valentine's Day, since the date on which it is held, 11/11, appears graphically as the loneliest of calendar numbers. In 2009, Alibaba struck on the ingenious marketing ploy of encouraging Chinese consumers to purchase themselves a treat, or several, on Singles' Day (in that sense, it's arguably the most selfish of holidays, too). Alibaba's first Singles' Day promotion, designed to drum up sales for the company's upstart Tmall service (Amazon with Chinese characteristics), scored $7.7 million in revenue.

Alibaba's Singles' Day Gala Show, held each year on Nov. 10 and broadcast live across China, has since grown into a hybrid spectacle combining elements of a pop concert with a variety show, the New Year's Eve countdown and the Home Shopping Network. The show features appearances, skits and performances involving local and international celebs — past participants have included Kobe Bryant, Kevin Spacey, Nicole Kidman and others — and builds up to midnight, when Alibaba launches cut-rate sales across its various e-commerce services, encouraging viewers at home to buy, buy, buy.

In recent years, the shopping extravaganza has generated more revenue than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. Last year's event, resulted in $30 billion in sales over Alibaba's platforms in just 24 hours.

THREADS:
Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
Single Day (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70558-China-s-Single-Day)

[GeneChing]

Manny Pacquiao posts video of Jack Ma sparring with him, challenges Floyd Mayweather to a fight (https://www.scmp.com/sport/boxing/article/3034784/manny-pacquiao-posts-video-jack-ma-sparring-him-challenges-floyd)
Philippines icon posts a 27-second video with the Alibaba co-founder throwing punches as they mock the unbeaten American
China’s richest man and the fighting senator shared time together in Hangzhou in their second meeting of the year
Unus Alladin
Published: 11:56pm, 27 Oct, 2019

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/methode/2019/10/28/62a7fe5a-f8cc-11e9-87ad-fce8e65242a6_image_hires_212626.jpg?itok=OUqn5An2&v=1572269193
Manny Pacquiao holds the mitts for Jack Ma during a workout in the video. Photo: Manny Pacquiao/Instagram

Manny Pacquiao and his new buddy Jack Ma have posted a joint video mocking Floyd Mayweather Jnr, with the Filipino boxing icon saying his friend was the “Real Money Team” while challenging the unbeaten American to another fight.
Pacquiao posted a 27-second video of him sparring with Ma, the multi-billionaire Chinese co-founder of Alibaba, with Ma throwing punches at the Filipino star, who was holding mitts to the sound of rock music. Segments of the “spar” were sped up to give the video “more punch” and the clip included closed captions.
“Floyd Mayweather if you want a real fight, fight me, if you want an exhibition, my guy, my friend Jack Ma will take care of you. The Real Money Team,” said Pacquiao in the video, which was posted on Sunday evening and mocked Mayweather’s The Money Team. The post received almost 170,000 views an hour after it was posted.
Ma, whose Alibaba Group owns the South China Morning Post, said in the video: “Yeah, I’m ready, anytime, any place, Manny’s team is ready.”
“Yes, that’s right,” replies Manny. In Pacquiao’s latest Instagram post, he simply writes “Message to Mayweather!” as the Filipino up the ante to get the American to return to the ring again and fight him a second time.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/10/28/d19714cc-f8cc-11e9-87ad-fce8e65242a6_1320x770_212626.jpg
Who’s da man? Manny Pacquiao points to Jack Ma who strikes a boxing pose. Photo: Instagram

Pacquiao has been trying to coax the 50-0 American legend out of retirement after their 2015 clash in Las Vegas ended with “Money” winning by unanimous decision.
The eight-times division world champion, who outclassed Adrien Broner in January before winning a split-decision victory against Keith “One Time” Thurman in July, is riding high on confidence and wants another money-spinning fight against Mayweather, who has not fought since beating Japanese kick-boxer Tenshin Nasukawa in a farcical exhibition bout last New Year’s Eve near Tokyo.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/10/28/fa4cb2a4-f7fb-11e9-87ad-fce8e65242a6_1320x770_212626.jpg
Manny Pacquiao and Jack Ma gives the thumbs up in Hangzhou. Photo: Instagram

The Philippines fighting senator met Ma for the second time this year in Hangzhou, where they shared a meal together over the weekend. Ma, who is China’s wealthiest man and is ranked 21st on the world’s rich list by Forbes with a net worth of over US$38 billion, presented the 40-year-old Filipino with golden microphones in the Chinese city, where they sparred and created a video – specially created for the 42-year-old Mayweather.
During their recent dinner, Ma rang up martial arts superstar Jet Li Lianjie and the three of them did some FaceTime together. Ma and Jet Li worked together in the 20-minute kung fu movie Gong Shou Dao in 2017. Pacquiao and Ma first met in Hong Kong in January, sharing a glass of wine in a harbourview hotel and their friendship has blossomed ever since.

THREADS
Pacquiao vs Mayweather (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68462-Pacquiao-vs-Mayweather)
Jack Ma (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)

[GeneChing]

DECEMBER 20, 2019 / 12:41 AM / 7 DAYS AGO
Mahjong, cartoons coming to Tesla car screens in China next year (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-china/mahjong-cartoons-coming-to-tesla-car-screens-in-china-next-year-idUSKBN1YO0SO)
2 MIN READ

http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20191220&t=2&i=1466392063&r=LYNXMPEFBJ0K8&w=1600
FILE PHOTO: The company logo is pictured on a Tesla Model X electric car in Berlin, Germany, November 13, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) said on Friday it will offer its Chinese customers more video and gaming content next year, marking the first time the automaker will offer internet-connected games in its vehicles.

Two video-streaming channels from cartoon-focused Bilibili (BILI.O) and Alibaba-backed (BABA.N) Youku will be added for a total of four. Owners will also be able to entertain themselves with three online games - mahjong and two versions of poker from Chinese tech-giant Tencent (0700.HK).

The games and videos will only start after the cars are properly parked, Tesla said, adding that new offerings will come sometime in first quarter. Owners often use the entertainment offerings while re-charging their cars or indulge after arriving back home from work.

The Silicon Valley automaker, widely seen as a leader in in-car infotainment, offers a range of games in its vehicles for the U.S. market but they are not internet-connected.

Keeping Chinese customers happy is a priority for Tesla which has built a $2 billion factory in the world’s biggest auto market and set itself a target of building 1,000 cars a week by the end of 2019.

Unlike the United States, it has also held racing events and showroom parties in China.

Tesla has started transporting China-built cars out of its Shanghai factory, according to its Weibo posts. It sold around 38,700 vehicles in China in the year to end-November, according to consultancy LMC Automotive.

Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh; Editing by Edwina Gibbs

THREADS
Mahjong (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?40386-Mahjong)
Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)

[GeneChing]

Is India investigating any US tech giants too? Just curious.



Jul 27, 2020 12:11am PT
India Court Probes Alibaba Over Censorship, Fake News (https://variety.com/2020/digital/asia/india-court-alibaba-censorship-fake-news-1234716927/)
By Patrick Frater

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/alibaba-offices.jpg?w=600
Courtesy of alibaba group

An Indian court has asked Chinese tech giant Alibaba, and its co-founder Jack Ma, to present evidence about the operation of its news operations. The request stems from a personnel case in which a former employee claims he was unfairly dismissed for refusing to censor content carried by Alibaba apps.

The case, reported first by the Reuters news agency, is brought by Pushpandra Singh Parmar and is being heard by Judge Sonia Sheokand at a District Court in Gurugram, near Delhi. Although not directly connected to recent government actions, the case may shed light on the activity of Chinese tech firms in India.

Last month, the Indian government banned 58 Chinese-owned apps, including the highly popular TikTok in response to a deadly border clash between the two neighbors. Indian authorities said there were “credible inputs” suggesting that the apps undermined national security.

Alibaba and Ma have been given 30 days to respond, either in person or through their lawyers. Ma is no longer a front-line executive at Alibaba, having retired as executive chairman in 2018. However, he remains a company director, is one of 36 members of the company’s controlling partnership structure, and is one of its largest single shareholders.

Through its Alibaba Pictures unit, Alibaba operates UC Web, a browser specially designed for use on mobile devices, and UC News, which serves news to those mobile users. The UC browser has been downloaded more than 689 million times in India, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower, quoted by Reuters, and UC News upwards of 79 million times.

The Alibaba-owned South China Morning Post cites a different analysis firm StatCounter. It says UC Browser has more than 430 million active users globally, of which 130 million are in India. It says that makes it the second most used mobile browser in India with a 10% market share, after Google Chrome.

In some 200 pages of documents, submitted as evidence Parmar says UC news both censored news that could be detrimental to China and also created fake news.

“In order to control any news related content to be published against China was automatically/manually rejected by an audit system evolved for this purpose,” his filing said. It used key word search such as “Sino-India war” and “China-India border” as a away of removing inconvenient stories.

According to Parmar, fake Hindi-language news stories included one in 2017 about the banning of 2,000-rupee banknotes, and another in 2018 about the outbreak of war between India and Pakistan.

“UC has been unwavering in its commitment to the India market and the welfare of its local employees, and its policies are in compliance with local laws. We are unable to comment on ongoing litigation,” a UC India spokesman told Variety in an emailed statement.

[GeneChing]

If only he could've funded Kung Fu Tai Chi (https://www.martialartsmart.com/Kungfu-magazine.html)...


Oct 20, 2020,07:31am EDT
Jack Ma’s Ant Group Wins Approval For Dual Listing That May Raise $35 Billion (https://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphjennings/2020/10/20/jack-mas-ant-group-wins-approval-for-dual-listing-that-may-raise-35-billion/#2f53951a4aa7)
Ralph Jennings
Contributor
Asia
https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f8eb9059df1996d5bf6272c/960x0.jpg?cropX1=976&cropX2=5007&cropY1=788&cropY2=3301
Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, speaks during 2020 China Green Companies Summit on September 29, ... [+] LIU YANG/VCG VIA GETTY IMAGES
Ant Group has received approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for its IPO, according to media reports, clearing the way for what is expected to be the world’s largest public listing.

The Hangzhou-based fintech giant had formally applied in August to sell its shares simultaneously in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Ant, which is controlled by billionaire Jack Ma, still needs to complete its registration with China’s securities regulator before it can list on Shanghai’s Star Market. The company is said to be aiming to raise $35 billion with the two offerings.

“At the moment there is no bigger financial technology company in the world,” says Alex Sirakov, senior associate with the research and advisory firm Kapronasia in Shanghai. “Overall, it really sends the message that this is the business model of the future, so there is quite a lot of hype around it.”

Ant is an affiliate of Alibaba Group, an $826 billion Chinese firm cofounded by Ma. Its payment platform Alipay has more than a billion users and 80 million merchants.

The Hangzhou-based firm was believed in 2018 to have finalized agreements with several international investors to raise as much as $10 billion at a valuation of $150 billion, Forbes reported at the time. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and global private equity investors such as Carlyle and Sequoia Capital China took part in the funding round, the state-affiliated China Securities Journal reported at the time.

The 2018 funding round was widely seen as a precursor to an IPO. The offering will be China’s largest if not the largest worldwide, Sirakov says.

Ant Group will probably leverage its IPO and eventual stock sales to increase transparency, he says. The Hong Kong exchange is considered more internationalized than bourses in mainland China.

“Now it’s time for this company to validate its strength,” Sirakov says. “Arguably every large financial institution in China uses some kind of (Ant) service. This comes with a lot of responsibility.”

https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f8eacac798b3971954d3561/960x0.jpg?fit=scale
Motorists drive past an Alipay logo next to the Shanghai office building of Ant Group in Shanghai, ... [+] HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP


Ralph Jennings

As a news reporter I have covered some of everything since 1988, from my alma mater U.C. Berkeley to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing where I followed Communist officials for the Japanese news agency Kyodo. Stationed in Taipei since 2006, I track Taiwanese companies and local economic trends that resonate offshore. At Reuters through 2010, I looked intensely at the island’s awkward relations with China. More recently, I’ve studied high-tech trends in greater China and expanded my overall news coverage to surrounding Asia

[GeneChing]

Singles Day: Alibaba sales blitz rakes in $75 billion as Chinese shake off Covid-19 (https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/10/tech/singles-day-2020-alibaba-intl-hnk/index.html)
2020 Updated
By Sherisse Pham, CNN Business

Updated 9:31 PM ET, Wed November 11, 2020
Chinese government halts Ant Group's giant IPO

Chinese government halts Ant Group's giant IPO 02:35
Hong Kong (CNN Business)China's annual Singles Day online shopping bonanza regularly hauls in tens of billions of dollars for Alibaba and other e-commerce and retail companies in China. This year, it's taking on new meaning as a showcase for the country's success in battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Alibaba (BABA) said on Thursday that the annual sales frenzy broke records again, raking in 498.2 billion yuan (roughly $75 billion). The total includes an earlier three-day period that was added to boost post-pandemic sales.
Compared to the same timeframe as last year, this year's haul represents an increase of 26%, the company said.
"China's economy has seen a strong recovery and Chinese consumers' purchase behaviors have already returned to pre-pandemic levels, if not higher," according to Xiaofeng Wang, analyst with market research firm Forrester..
China reported positive economic growth for the second quarter in a row last month, underlining how quickly the world's second-largest economy has recovered from the pandemic.
For brands and retailers scrambling to recover from months of shuttered shops and consumers hunkered down indoors, the lucrative Chinese shopper is a much-needed bright spot. Many companies "are doubling down" on their Singles Day sales events, according to Wang.
A survey from market research firm Oliver Wyman found that 86% of Chinese consumers are willing to spend the same as or more than what they did during last year's Singles Day.
Chinese shoppers "continue to spend like crazy," said Oliver Wyman partner Jacques Penhirin, who led the survey.
The remaining 14% of survey respondents said they will spend less on Singles Day, because the pandemic had brought too much uncertainty for them.
Penhirin predicted the event would be massive for participating brands and retailers, because shoppers are using it as an opportunity to treat themselves.
It's been a strange year for Chinese consumers. They saved money during an unpredecented lockdown earlier this year, but they aren't traveling, said Penhirin.
So shoppers are approaching Singles Day with an indulgent mindset. For example, a shopper who usually buys Maybelline makeup, he said, might instead spend a bit more to buy stuff from Yves Saint Laurent on sale.
"Now it's time to be indulgent," Penhirin said.

Glitzy stars and blockbuster growth
Singles Day regularly racks up bigger sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
The event — also known as Double 11 — is pegged to China's informal, anti-Valentine's Day holiday that celebrates people who aren't in relationships. It takes place on November 11, a date that was chosen because it is written as four ones, or singles.
Alibaba started offering Singles Day discounts in 2009 and has since turned the event into a bonanza of online shopping.
Other Chinese e-commerce platforms like JD.com (JD), Pinduoduo (PDD) and Red, as well as regular brick-and-mortar stores also take part. Rival JD.com's event lasts almost two weeks — longer than Alibaba's. JD said on Thursday that it also set a new sales record of 271.5 billion yuan ($41 billion) during the event, growing 33% compared to last year.
The event has also gained traction outside China: Alibaba's Southeast Asia subsidiary Lazada offers Double 11 discounts in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

In China, Alibaba once again held a glitzy live concert counting down the hours until the main sales day starts. Celebrities often make appearances at the so-called 11.11 Gala, usually to hawk their own brands and products.
Last year's headline performer was singer Taylor Swift. This year, it's Katy Perry, who was virtually piped into a Shanghai arena late Tuesday evening.
This year, the company added an extra three days of sales — which took place from November 1 through 3 — because of the pandemic, according to Alicia Yap, managing director at Citigroup Global Markets Asia.
A few more days of huge discounts help "brands or merchants recoup lost sales during the lockdown and [helps] global brands gain access to the stronger demand from Chinese consumers," Yap wrote in a note last week.

Trends for this unprecedented year
Livestreaming is expected to be a "key growth driver," for this year's Double 11, said Wang, of Forrester.
Livestreaming had been around in China for years, but really took off during lockdown.
It's like the Shopping Channel or QVC on steroids: Shoppers tune in to watch influencers peddling everything from cars to mangoes, and can score big discounts during the live streams.
Wang also expects luxury goods will sell really well, because Chinese usually buy them while traveling overseas.
"When pandemic makes international travel impossible, consumers will pivot these purchases domestically and particularly online," she said. "That's also why it's the first year that luxury brands are heavily involved in Singles Day."
Oliver Wyman found that while foreign brands continue to dominate popular Singles Day categories such as cosmetics and infant formula, a growing number of Chinese shoppers will buy local brands of products like electronics and smartphones this year.
"It's not patriotism ... it's just the technology, design and quality are better, therefore there is just more confidence" in Chinese brands, Penhirin said.
Another reason Chinese are buying local is because some remain cost conscious post-pandemic, according to analysts at consultancy Bain & Company.
Shoppers, for example, may view Apple's (AAPL) iPhone as too expensive, and instead buy slightly cheaper devices from Huawei or Xiaomi that they believe are comparable in design and technology.

Alibaba's Jack Ma out of favor with Beijing
There was an added shadow over the event for Alibaba and its billionaire founder Jack Ma. Last week, Chinese regulators slammed the brakes on the highly anticipated IPO of Ant Group, Alibaba's financial affiliate, at the eleventh hour. Regulators cited "major issues" that might cause Ant "not to meet the listing conditions or disclosure requirements."
Ma publicly criticized Chinese regulators for stifling innovation, which industry watchers noted may have also played a role in the IPO getting pulled.
Even though many other online platforms and stores take part in Singles Day, it is still closely tied to Alibaba. And recent criticism of the annual event by government groups and state media could signal that Ma is still out of favor with Beijing.
The Chinese government has said it is eager to stimulate domestic consumption to spur the country's economic growth. And yet the China Consumers Association, a state-backed national consumer rights group, urged for "rational consumption" during the upcoming Double 11 shopping season, according to statements it issued last week.
State-run news network CCTV called for "fewer tricks" by shopping platforms during the Singles Day shopping season, saying they should not cheat consumers.
But a spat between a tech billionaire and Beijing regulators likely won't affect how Chinese consumers shop, according to Penhirin of Oliver Wyman.
"Consumers don't care, honestly," he said, adding that while financial markets might be paying attention to the drama, consumers will think that "as long as I get a good deal, it's none of my business."

-- Laura He contributed to this report.

Threads
China-s-Single-Day (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70558-China-s-Single-Day)
Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
covid (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71666-Coronavirus-(COVID-19)-Wuhan-Pneumonia)

[GeneChing]

Anyone use this?

JANUARY 4, 202110:35 PM UPDATED 10 HOURS AGO
China's Alibaba to shut down Xiami music app next month (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-alibaba-idUSKBN29A0K5)
By Reuters Staff

2 MIN READ

https://static.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20210105&t=2&i=1546625901&r=LYNXMPEH0409D&w=1024
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Alibaba Group is seen at its office in Beijing, China January 5, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Alibaba Group will close its music streaming platform Xiami Music next month, in a move that marks a step back from its ambitions to push into China’s entertainment industry.

“Due to operational adjustments, we will stop the service of Xiami Music,” the online music arm of the Chinese e-commerce giant said on Tuesday on its Weibo account, adding that the closure will occur on Feb. 5.

“It’s hard to say goodbye after being with you for 12 years.”

Alibaba acquired the music service in 2013, and invested millions of yuan to compete in China’s online music market, which is dominated by Tencent Holdings. Its efforts however have not paid off and the app currently only has 2% of China’s music streaming market, behind KuGou Music, QQ Music, KuWo, and NetEase Cloud Music, according to Beijing-headquartered data intelligence company TalkingData.

Xiami’s closure also comes after Chinese regulators announced that they had launched an antitrust investigation into Alibaba, which beyond its core e-commerce business also operates in sectors such as financial services, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

However, it does not mark the end to Alibaba’s participation in the online streaming market. In September 2019, Alibaba invested $700 million in one of Xiami’s competitors, NetEase Cloud Music.

Reporting by Sophie Yu in Beijing and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Michael Perry

[GeneChing]

MARCH 2, 202112:35 AM UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Jack Ma loses title as China's richest man after coming under Beijing's scrutiny (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-alibaba-jackma-idUSKBN2AU0QL)
By Yingzhi Yang, Brenda Goh

3 MIN READ


BEIJING (Reuters) - Alibaba and Ant Group founder Jack Ma has lost the title of China’s richest man, a list published on Tuesday showed, as his peers prospered while his empire was put under heavy scrutiny by Chinese regulators.

Ma and his family had held the top spot for China’s richest in the Hurun Global Rich List in 2020 and 2019 but now trail in fourth place behind bottled water maker Nongfu Spring’s Zhong Shanshan, Tencent Holding’s Pony Ma and e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo’s Collin Huang, the latest list showed.

His fall out of the top three comes “after China’s regulators reined in Ant Group and Alibaba on anti-trust issues,” the Hurun report said.

Ma’s recent woes were triggered by an Oct. 24 speech in which he blasted China’s regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his Ant Group’s $37 billion IPO just days before the fintech giant’s public listing.

Regulators have since tightened anti-trust scrutiny on the country’s tech sector, with Alibaba taking much of the heat; the market regulator launched an official anti-trust probe into Alibaba in December.

Chinese regulators also began to tighten their grip on the fintech sector and have asked Ant to fold some of its businesses into a financial holding company to be regulated like traditional financial firms.

Ma, who is not known for shying away from the limelight, then disappeared from the public eye for about three months, triggering frenzied speculation about his whereabouts. He re-emerged in January with a 50-second video appearance.

China’s current richest man, Zhong, made his first appearance at the top spot with a fortune of 550 billion yuan ($85 billion), largely thanks to the share price performances of Nongfu Spring and vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which he also controls.

Tencent’s Ma saw his wealth swell 70% over the year to 480 billion while Pinduoduo’s Huang’s fortune grew 283% to 450 billion yuan, the list said. In comparison, the wealth of Ma and his family grew 22%, to 360 billion yuan.

Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, broke into the top five rankings among Chinese billionaires in Hurun’s Global Rich List for the first time, with an estimated personal wealth of $54 billion.

($1 = 6.4696 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Yingzhi Yang in Beijing and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Raju Gopalakrishnan

threads
Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao)

[GeneChing]

Mar 15, 2021 11:21am PT
Alibaba May Be Forced to Sell Media Businesses by Chinese Government (Report) (https://variety.com/2021/biz/asia/alibaba-china-forced-sell-media-businesses-1234931004/)

By Patrick Frater

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Alibaba-logo-768x432-1.png
Alibaba Group
The Chinese government may order e-commerce to entertainment giant Alibaba to sell off or cut back its vast array of media assets. In addition to the company’s too-big-to fail status derived from activities that range from food retailing to electronic payments, China’s government has reportedly become concerned about Alibaba’s ability to influence public opinion.

After government regulators drew up an inventory of the group’s media assets earlier this year, they have begun negotiations with Alibaba that may lead to disposal of some of its media businesses, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing anonymous sources.

Alibaba’s media and entertainment portfolio is huge and diverse, though it is almost entirely focused on Greater China. The businesses range from print publishing to video streaming, and include minority stakes in social media firms, cinemas and film production companies.

One of its most prominent overseas jewels is a minority stake of unknown size in Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, bought in late 2016. Another is its majority stake in the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s leading English-language newspaper publisher, bought earlier the same year.

In response to the report, Alibaba said in a statement: “The purpose of our investments in these companies is to provide technology support for their business upgrade and drive commercial synergies with our core commerce businesses. We do not intervene or get involved in the companies’ day-to-day operations or editorial decisions.”

The vast majority of media in China is owned or controlled by the state at some level. That allows central authorities to direct news flow, emphasize favored topics, demonize enemies and exclude information and opinion that does not support Communist Party messaging.

Social media, with its diversity and speed, is increasingly being seen as a challenge to the China government’s ability to speak with one voice. Over the years, social platforms have been required to do the government’s bidding by employing ever increasing number of staff to censor user comments and user-generated content.

Despite companies’ compliance, Chinese authorities have also spent several months devising ways to rein in the country’s tech giants. Financial regulatory authorities halted the spinoff and IPO of Alibaba’s financial arm, Ant Group, in late 2020. They have also used the State Authority for Market Regulation to punish tech firms for unauthorized merger and acquisition activity, and in late December Alibaba was given formal notification of an investigation into alleged monopolistic behavior.

Among Alibaba’s core media and entertainment businesses is Youku Tudou, one of China’s largest generalist video streaming firms. Its Alibaba Pictures unit, which has a separate share listing in Hong Kong, contains film production and distribution businesses as well as Tao Piao Piao, one of two companies that dominate cinema ticketing.

Alibaba also amassed minority stakes in publisher Yicai Media (37%), video streamer Mango TV (5%), Twitter-like social media platform Weibo (30%), video entertainment group Bilibili (6.7%) and Focus Media (5.3%), China’s top online advertising network.

It also has stakes in film studios Huayi Bros. Media, Bona Film Group, film financier Hehe Pictures and exhibition chains Dadi Cinemas and Wanda Pictures. Those investments have often appeared to be at the behest of Chinese authorities as a means of using Alibaba’s massive financial strength to shore up the country’s entertainment sector, which is huge but remains in its industrial infancy.

Alibaba shares are listed in ARD form on the New York Stock Exchange. The company has a secondary listing in Hong Kong. The conglomerate’s market capitalization was around $620 billion on Monday.


threads
Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
Chollywood-rising (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising)

[GeneChing]

Wonder how Jack is doing...



MARCH 29, 202112:04 AM UPDATED 2 DAYS AGO
Alibaba-backed Energy Monster caught in legal dispute ahead of U.S. listing (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-monster-dispute-idUSKBN2BL0OI)
By Samuel Shen, Josh Horwitz

4 MIN READ


SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Energy Monster, China’s biggest mobile device power bank startup backed by Alibaba and SoftBank, is embroiled in an ownership dispute that could further cloud a Nasdaq flotation already buffeted by new U.S. regulations to delist foreign companies.

https://static.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20210329&t=2&i=1556564982&r=LYNXMPEH2S0E4&
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Alibaba Group is seen at its office in Beijing, China January 5, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
Two Shanghai-based venture capitalists are pressing a case through both U.S. and Chinese courts against Energy Monster Chief Executive Guangyuan Cai, claiming he reneged on a deal to give them a joint 3% stake in the business.

Energy Monster, which rents out power banks, or charging stations, for use by customers in Chinese shopping malls, restaurants, bars and other public places, filed earlier this month for an initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq.

The company has not yet set a date for the anticipated $300 million IPO but a discovery filing by Yiming Feng and Sicheng Yin, partners at Atom Venture Capital, in the United States last week described it as “imminent”.

Feng and Yin initially filed a lawsuit in China in January, arguing they played a critical role in the conception and development of Energy Monster but Cai reneged on the equity transfer promise, Feng told Reuters.

Seeking to bolster their claims, Feng and Yin last week applied for and won a U.S. court order authorizing them to obtain information “related to the 3% equity agreement”, from Citigroup Global Markets Inc and Goldman Sachs & Co LLC, the IPO’s underwriters.

The petition document filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York said the information “will help (the) petitioners prove their claims in the Chinese litigation.”

“We are very pleased that the Court granted the requested discovery,” Michael Carlinsky, a managing partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, who represents Feng and Yin, wrote in an e-mailed statement to Reuters.

Energy Monster, Citi and Goldman declined to comment. Cai, who owns 6.6% of Energy Monster, did not respond to a request for comment.

In its March 12 IPO application, Energy Monster said Cai was advised by his China litigation counsel that the plaintiffs’ claims “are baseless and frivolous”, and the CEO is “contesting the claims vigorously”.

The legal challenge adds to headwinds for Energy Monster’s IPO, after the U.S. securities regulator last week adopted measures that would kick foreign companies off American stock exchanges if they do not comply with U.S. auditing standards. Those enhanced powers triggered a sell-off in U.S.-listed Chinese companies.

Energy Monster’s IPO filing cautioned “there can be no assurance that Mr. Cai will be able to prevail in the lawsuit or that he will be able to settle the lawsuit on terms favorable to him.”

“An adverse ruling could have a materially adverse effect on our reputation, capital structure, business and financial condition,” it said.

VIE STRUCTURE
The claim against Energy Monster centres on a 3% stake in Shanghai Zhixiang Technology Co Ltd, which is ultimately controlled by Energy Monster’s listing vehicle, Cayman Islands-registered Smart Share Global Ltd.

Chinese technology firms seeking a U.S. listing typically use a variable interest entity (VIE) structure, where an overseas listing vehicle controls onshore operations through contractual agreements, to skirt regulatory hurdles.

Feng said that if he and Yin secure the 3% stake in Shanghai Zhixiang, they could potentially disrupt the VIE structure.

“If the VIE structure is broken, where is the legality of listing?” Feng told Reuters.

A unit of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is the largest shareholder in Energy Monster with a 16.5% stake while SoftBank subsidiaries hold 7.7% of the company, according to the IPO filing.

Reporting by Samuel Shen and Josh Horwitz

[GeneChing]

PRC is really after Jack.



APRIL 8, 2021 11:23 PM UPDATED 10 HOURS AGO
China halts new enrollments at business school backed by Jack Ma: FT (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alibaba-academy-idUSKBN2BW0LT)
By Reuters Staff

2 MIN READ

https://static.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20210409&t=2&i=1557812384&r=LYNXMPEH380C5&w=1024
FILE PHOTO - Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of China's Alibaba Group, speaks in front of a picture of SoftBank's human-like robot named 'pepper' during a news conference in Chiba, Japan, June 18, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Picture
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Beijing authorities have forced an elite business school backed by Alibaba Group Co Ltd founder Jack Ma to halt enrollments, the Financial Times said on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The clampdown on the school, founded in 2015 by Ma to train China’s next generation of entrepreneurs, comes as his business empire faces government scrutiny.

Hupan Academy, based in the city of Hangzhou, where Alibaba has its headquarters, suspended a first-year class set to begin in late March, the newspaper said.

Alibaba and Hupan Academy did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Tuition for the three-year program amounts to 580,000 yuan ($88,500.98). Students listed in the incoming class of 2019 included executives from Keep, a successful Chinese exercise company, and fast-growing domestic chip firm Horizon Robotics.

The school is among the initiatives launched by Ma related to education, a sector the erstwhile English teacher has committed to since stepping down from his role as Alibaba’s chairman in 2019.

The enrollment halt comes amid Beijing’s crackdown on Ma’s businesses. Late last year Ant Group, a financial affiliate of Alibaba, abruptly suspended a planned $37 billion IPO in Shanghai following pressure from the authorities.

The botched listing came after Ma made comments in public criticising China’s financial regulators. He has yet to make a public appearance since, save for a brief 50-second video clip broadcast to a group of teachers.

($1=6.5536 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

[GeneChing]

PRC is really after Jack.


APRIL 11, 2021 12:24 AM UPDATED 12 HOURS AGO
Record penalty for Ma's Alibaba marks tumultuous stretch for its founder (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-alibaba-jack-ma-idUSKBN2BY06F)
By Tony Munroe

5 MIN READ

BEIJING (Reuters) - Once seemingly untouchable, Alibaba founder Jack Ma has endured a tumultuous run that saw his Chinese e-commerce giant hit with a record 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) antitrust fine on Saturday, resolving one key uncertainty even as others persist for himself and his business empire.

https://static.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20210411&t=2&i=1558017036&r=LYNXMPEH3A035&w=1024
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Jack Ma, billionaire founder of Alibaba Group, arrives at the "Tech for Good" Summit in Paris, France May 15, 2019. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo/File Photo
The reversal of fortune for the 56-year-old Ma, who has all-but-disappeared from public view since an October speech blasting China’s regulatory system, has been striking for an entrepreneur whose transformation of commerce in China - and his relentless optimism - commanded cult-like reverence.

Ma, who stepped down from Alibaba in 2019 but looms large in the corporate psyche and in the eyes of investors, had revelled in pushing boundaries with audacious statements, taking a high profile even as most Chinese peers kept their heads down.

Friends in high places, as well as pride in Alibaba’s success, had protected Ma, sources have said.

That was until his Shanghai speech triggered a backlash that led to the scuppering of a blockbuster $37 billion IPO for Alibaba financial technology affiliate Ant Group, as well as a clampdown by authorities on the e-commerce giant itself and the wider “platform economy”, which continues to reverberate.

Ant, whose rapid growth and freewheeling lending practices drew regulatory concern about financial risk, remains subject to an enforced restructuring that is expected to rein in some of its most profitable businesses and slash its valuation.

“Entrepreneurship has to be disruptive. But being provocative to the government has its limits,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of Beijing-based tech consultancy BDA China and author of a book on Alibaba and Ma.

Saturday’s settlement, he said, “should draw a line” under the matter for Alibaba.]

“But for Ant and Jack, there’s no line drawn yet,” he said.

Alibaba declined to comment on Ma, and his foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

CONSPICUOUS ABSENCE
Ma’s absence from public view became conspicuous until he surfaced for the first time in three months in late January, speaking to a group of teachers by video, which sent Alibaba shares surging. He has continued to keep an extremely low profile.

“He’s playing a lot of golf and improving his handicap,” said one person who knows him.

A former English teacher, Ma co-founded Alibaba in 1999 from a shared apartment in the eastern city of Hangzhou, ultimately building a colossus that spans e-commerce, financial services, cloud computing and even supermarkets, making him China’s most famous businessman.

He was also China’s richest, until the clampdown knocked him back to fourth place on the Hurun Global Rich List published in March, although Ma and his family’s wealth still grew last year by 22% to 360 billion yuan, according to the list.

As of last July, he owned 4.8% of Alibaba.

In 2018, Ma was revealed to be a Communist Party member by its official newspaper, debunking a public assumption that he was politically unattached.

‘ARROGANCE DISCOUNT’

Ma has often been described in Chinese media as a source of national pride and even legend. His global prominence made him an almost-diplomatic figure. Countless books have been published on Alibaba’s founding and Ma’s business tactics.

Ma-isms such as “Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine”, are common in Chinese business circles. In Hangzhou, small firms have been known to set up altars adorned with images of Ma to bring good fortune.

But in a February snub, Ma was left off a list of Chinese entrepreneurial leaders published by state media.

Franklin Chu, president of Sage Capital in Rye, New York, noted that Alibaba shares are trading at a 30% discount to their 52-week high.

“I call this the ‘Jack Ma arrogance discount,’ combined with the recent round of China-bashing coming out of Washington,” he said.

Alibaba, he said, “needs to work hard to re-establish an accommodative relationship with its regulatory handlers.”

Since stepping back from the company, Ma has sought to focus his time on philanthropy and education, including his charitable trust, the Jack Ma Foundation, and two schools in Hangzhou.

Ma was an active conference participant, making at least 12 appearances in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic began. In March 2020, he opened a Twitter account - the platform is blocked in China - which mainly tweeted about his foundation’s COVID-19 prevention efforts. Its last tweet was on Oct. 10.

“It’s crucial for Chinese entrepreneurs to be low-key. Don’t speak casually. And don’t say anything wrong,” Edward Chen, chairman of Shanghai-based fintech consultancy China Rising Group, said in a social media video post.

“Prudence in words and action is the No. 1 priority so that Chinese entrepreneurs can live longer.”

($1 = 6.5522 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Tony Munroe in Beijing, Brenda Goh, Samuel Shen and Josh Horwitz in Shanghai, Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by Kim Coghill

[GeneChing]

May 10, 2021
7:51 AM PDT
Technology
Jack Ma makes rare visit to Alibaba headquarters in Hangzhou (https://www.reuters.com/technology/jack-ma-makes-rare-visit-alibaba-headquarters-hangzhou-2021-05-10/)
Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/resizer/Z-mR_2Ez1Ttkk5pXFFzpyJQGiI0=/1200x0/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/56DEIZI3VNPAFGDJ3IOAMKZUWU.jpg
Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of China's Alibaba Group, speaks in front of a picture of SoftBank's human-like robot named 'pepper' during a news conference in Chiba, Japan, June 18, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo

Alibaba (9988.HK) founder Jack Ma, largely out of public view amid a regulatory clampdown on the group, made a rare visit to its Hangzhou campus on Monday during the e-commerce giant's annual "Ali Day" staff and family event, company sources said.

The billionaire has kept an extremely low profile since delivering a speech in October in Shanghai criticising China's financial regulators, which set off a chain of events that led to the shelving of what would have been a record $37 billion initial public offering of Alibaba's affiliate Ant Group.

On Monday, Ma was seen in an open-air campus shuttle bus with a number of Alibaba executives, according to a photograph taken by an employee at the event, viewed by Reuters. Wearing a blue T-shirt, white trousers and a pair of Chinese-style cloth shoes, Ma was smiling.

"It's so exciting to see Jack," said the employee, declining to be named.

"It's a pity there was no chance to take a photo with him."

China's most famous entrepreneur, Ma enjoyed cult-like status among staff even after stepping down as chairman in 2019.

Ma, who is based in Hangzhou, disappeared from public view for three months before surfacing in January, speaking to a group of teachers by video, which sent Alibaba shares surging, but has not made any other public appearances since then.

Last month, regulators imposed a sweeping restructuring on Ant Group, while Alibaba was hit with a record antitrust fine of 18.2 billion yuan ($2.84 billion) after an investigation found it abused its market dominance.


($1 = 6.4110 Chinese yuan renminbi) What happens next I wonder?

[GeneChing]

Business
Jack Ma to Step Down as President of Academy He Founded, FT Says (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-23/jack-ma-to-step-down-as-president-of-academy-he-founded-ft-says)
By Yueqi Yang
May 23, 2021, 1:56 PM PDT
Move came amid Beijing’s crackdown on Ma’s influence
Hupan University is changing name and curriculum, paper says
https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iINriHDVk5qI/v0/1800x-1.jpg
Jack Ma Photographer: Marlene Awaad/Bloomberg

In this article
BABA
ALIBABA GRP-ADR
210.44USD-0.62-0.29%

Jack Ma will step down as president of Hupan University, an elite business academy he co-founded six years ago, amid pressure from Beijing, the Financial Times reported.

The move comes as Chinese authorities crack down on the influence of the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. Ma abruptly fell from grace after blasting financial regulators in a public speech last October. Since then, his highly-anticipated initial public offering by Ant Group Co. has been put on hold, and Ma has largely stayed out of public view.

Hupan University, a training program for executives and entrepreneurs located in Hangzhou, Ma’s hometown, had recently changed its name to Hupan Innovation Center, dropping the word “university” because it’s not a degree-granting educational institution. The school will also restructure its curriculum because authorities were concerned that Ma was building a network at odds with the Communist party’s objectives, the FT reported.

Ma was intent on remaining connected to the school, the newspaper said, but wouldn’t hold any high-level official title. Hupan had suspended enrollment of new student earlier, the paper said.

Alibaba referred the FT’s questions to Hupan, which didn’t respond requests to the newspaper for comment.

Wonder what's next?

[highlypotion]

I think his life is in danger, I wish Jack Ma's safety.

[GeneChing]

Alibaba Earmarks US$1 Billion for Cloud Investment Across Asia Pacific (https://www.alizila.com/alibaba-earmarks-us1-billion-for-cloud-investment-across-asia-pacific/)
By Alison Tudor Ackroyd
|
Published on Jun 8, 2021

https://osssource.alizila.com/uploads/2021/06/Alibaba-Cloud-Engineers-Working-in-Data-Centers-992x558-1.jpg
Alibaba Group’s cloud operator pledged to invest an initial US$1 billion supporting talent and start-ups across the Asia Pacific region over the next three years.

Alibaba Cloud also said it would launch its first data center in the Philippines by the end of this year, build an innovation center in Malaysia, and officially launched its third data center in Indonesia.

“We are committed to bettering the region’s cloud ecosystem and enhancing its digital infrastructure,” Jeff Zhang, President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence said in a statement on Tuesday unveiling the updates.

https://osssource.alizila.com/uploads/2021/06/Jeff-Zhang-992x558-1.jpg
Jeff Zhang, President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, speaks at a virtual summit held on June 8, 2021.
The flurry of announcements came during a half-day virtual summit held by Alibaba Cloud’s international operations annually. The chunky investment is the largest by Alibaba Group this financial year, underscoring the Hangzhou-headquartered e-commerce player’s confidence in the region’s digital transformation.

During the summit, Alibaba Cloud also launched an e-commerce livestreaming solution for merchants to reach shoppers digitally, the cloud division said in a separate statement on Tuesday.

The solution guarantees image quality while reducing bit rates, enabling a high-resolution livestreaming experience with low bandwidth costs. Users can enjoy livestreams with a latency of around two seconds, essential to the experience of flash sales.

Low latency is critical across Southeast Asia where the digital infrastructure is nascent, but where policymakers are keen to see greater economic and financial inclusion that internet connections offer their citizens. Southeast Asia’s internet sector is poised to grow to over US$300 billion in gross merchandise value by 2025, said Google and Singapore’s Temasek in a widely cited report.

The livestreaming solution comes as retailers post record sales during China’s second-largest shopping festival, 6.18. Sales generated from Taobao Live in just the opening hour of the event surpassed that of the entire first day of the same event last year.

Livestreaming e-commerce solutions are quickly evolving as a response to increasing demand during the Covid-19 pandemic. Retailers globally have flocked to China, where the economy rebounded relatively quickly from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and adopted digital tools to reach shoppers.

“Innovative technology is critical to the recovery from Covid-19,” said Jeff Zhang, President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

Built upon Alibaba Cloud’s extensive content delivery networks with over 2,800 nodes in more than 70 countries and regions, the livestreaming solution leverages the cloud real-time video processing technology to ensure an uninterrupted signal transfer between sellers, buyers and the nearest distribution center.

During China’s largest shopping festival, 11.11, Alibaba Cloud provided a highly scalable, reliable and secure public cloud infrastructure, which at its peak processed 583,000 orders per second.

Alibaba Cloud grew out of the group’s need to operate at scale and address the core commerce business’s complexity, including payments and logistics. In 2009, the group founded Alibaba Cloud to make these technologies available to third-party customers. It offers cloud services to customers worldwide, including elastic computing, database, big data analytics, a machine learning platform and IoT services.

Alibaba Group was ranked third globally and first in the Asia Pacific region last year in the global Infrastructure-as-a-Service market, a form of cloud computing, according to a report by consultancy Gartner in April.

In the March 2021 quarter, cloud computing revenue grew 37% year-over-year to RMB16,761 million (US$2,558 million). Alibaba Cloud turned profitable during the December quarter.

Looking ahead, another big project for Alibaba Cloud is helping digitally upgrade the Olympic Games in Tokyo later this year, part of making the games widely accessible during the pandemic. The cloud operator is a worldwide partner for the International Olympic Committee until 2028.
Now what's happening with Alibaba?

[GeneChing]

China’s JD.com smashes through its Singles Day record with $48.7 billion in sales and counting (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/11/china-singles-day-jd-smashes-its-record-with-48point7-billion-in-sales.html)
PUBLISHED THU, NOV 11 20213:06 AM EST
Arjun Kharpal
@ARJUNKHARPAL

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has so far racked up 311.4 billion yuan ($48.6 billion) in sales across its platforms during the Singles Day shopping event, smashing through its record last year.

There are still several hours left of Singles Day this year with JD’s sales ending at midnight China time on Friday so that transaction volume will increase.

While it traditionally was a 24 hour flash-sale type of event, Singles Day has got longer each year which has allowed e-commerce players to grow their sales.

GUANGZHOU, China — Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has racked up 311.4 billion yuan ($48.6 billion) in sales across its platforms as of 14:09 p.m. Beijing time during the Singles Day shopping event, smashing through its record last year.

The figure JD.com released is referred to as transaction volume. It is the amount of money that is transacted across its e-commerce platforms and does not directly translate into revenue for the company — and it does not take into account returned items.

Still, it’s an indication of the appetite from shoppers on Singles Day or Double 11, a major shopping event in China that eclipses Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the U.S. in terms of sales.

Last year, JD’s transaction volume totaled 271.5 billion yuan. There are still several hours left of Singles Day this year with JD’s sales ending at midnight China time on Friday, so that transaction volume will increase.

JD rival Alibaba has not released any figures for transactions across its platforms yet.

https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/106886384-1621568698463-gettyimages-1229576154-14c.jpeg?v=1621568754&w=740&h=416
Workers from Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com prepare parcels for delivery at the company’s main logistics hub for Singles Day on November 11, 2020 in Beijing, China.
Kevin Frayer | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Alibaba began the Singles Day event in 2009 but now retailers across the country are all involved, offering huge discounts to tempt consumers into buying goods.

While it was traditionally a 24-hour flash-sale type of event, Singles Day has gotten longer each year.

JD had a pre-sale period from Oct. 20 to Oct. 31, before official sales began immediately to continue until midnight on Friday. The longer sales period is part of the reason JD has been able to grow its transaction volume this year.

This year’s Double 11 has taken on a different feel under the specter of China’s crackdown on its domestic technology sector, concerns about economic growth, and President Xi Jinping’s push toward more moderate wealth for all, or “common prosperity.”

In an interview with CNBC recorded ahead of Singles Day, the CEO of JD’s retail business told CNBC that “consumer demand keeps increasing.”

threads
China-s-Singles-Day (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70558-China-s-Singles-Day)
Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)

[GeneChing]

November 19, 2021
7:27 PM PST
Last Updated 2 days ago
Technology
China fines tech giants for failing to report 43 old deals (https://www.reuters.com/technology/china-finds-43-anti-trust-law-violations-involving-alibaba-baidu-jdcom-2021-11-20/)
Reuters

2 minute read

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A man walks past the company logo of JD.com during the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 4, 2021. REUTERS/Florence Lo

BEIJING, Nov 20 (Reuters) - China's market regulator on Saturday said it was fining companies including Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com for failing to declare 43 deals that date as far back as 2012 to authorities, saying that they violated anti-monopoly legislation.

Enterprises involved in the cases would be fined 500,000 yuan ($78,000) each, it said, the maximum under China's 2008 Anti-Monopoly Law.

Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com and Geely did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China has been tightening its grip on internet platforms, reversing a once laissez-faire approach and citing the risk of abusing market power to stifle competition, misuse of consumers’ data and violation of consumer rights.

The earliest deal listed was a 2012 acquisition involving Baidu and a partner, and the most recent was the 2021 agreement between Baidu and Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holdings to create a new-energy vehicle company.

Other deals cited by the State Administration of Market Supervision included Alibaba's 2014 acquisition of Chinese digital mapping and navigation firm AutoNavi and its 2018 purchase of a 44% stake in Ele.me to become the food delivery service's largest shareholder.

The deals, however, did not have the effect of eliminating or restricting competition, the regulator said.

In December last year, it fined Alibaba, Tencent-backed China Literature and Shenzhen Hive Box 500,000 yuan each for not reporting past deals properly for antitrust reviews, the first time it had ever done so.

($1 = 6.3863 Chinese yuan renminbi)


Reporting by Gabriel Crossley and Brenda Goh; Editing by William Mallard
Not only does China tax its rich, it fines them a lot.

[GeneChing]

A Chinese man called 'Ma' was detained. The news wiped $26 billion off Alibaba's stock (https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/04/business/china-jack-ma-rumor-detention-intl-hnk/index.html)
Analysis by Nectar Gan, CNN
Updated 1:37 AM ET, Thu May 5, 2022

A version of this story appeared in CNN's Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country's rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here.

Hong Kong (CNN Business)For Chinese tech tycoon Jack Ma, there's a price to freedom: $26 billion.

Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant Ma co-founded, saw its Hong Kong-listed shares plunge as much as 9.4% Tuesday after Chinese state media reported that an individual surnamed "Ma" in the city of Hangzhou — where Alibaba is based — had been detained on national security grounds.
According to China's state broadcaster CCTV, the suspect was placed under "compulsory measures" on April 25 on suspicion of "colluding with overseas anti-China hostile forces" to "incite secession" and "incite subversion of state power."
The one-sentence report, which was swiftly picked up by other state media outlets and alerted across Chinese news platforms, triggered panic selling in Hong Kong, erasing an estimated $26 billion from Alibaba's market value within minutes.
Amid the frenzy, Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the state-owned nationalist tabloid the Global Times, rushed to clarify on China's Twitter-like Weibo that the report was misleading because the name of the suspect in question has three characters. Jack Ma's Chinese name, Ma Yun, has only two characters. (CCTV later quietly updated its original report to match Hu's assessment).
To further dispel concerns, the Global Times reported the accused man was born in 1985 in Wenzhou (while Jack Ma was born in 1964 in Hangzhou) and worked as the director of hardware research and development at an IT company.
The clarifications led to a rebound, with Alibaba recovering the majority of its losses by the day's end.
The market's roller coaster reaction is the latest sign of just how skittish investors are getting over China's embattled tech sector, which has been a target of the Chinese government's heavy-handed regulatory crackdown since late 2020.
Despite recent signals from the Chinese government it is preparing to rollback the campaign due to the economic impact, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the market frenzy on Tuesday indicates investor confidence remains shaky.
"I thought this was kind of an odd episode," said Victor Shih, a political science professor at the University of California San Diego. "Whether that was a warning of sorts to the technology sector as a whole, or perhaps Jack Ma personally. Who knows? But it's certainly demonstrated the government does not even have to arrest a senior technology executive to erase tens of billions of dollars from a company's market valuation. It just needs to release some kind of information," Shih added.
"That's quite powerful. And certainly what happened yesterday was a clear illustration of that power, whether it was delivered or not."
https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220504035829-jack-ma-alibaba-file-05162019-exlarge-169.jpg
Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, in Paris in 2019.
But the fact investors were so quick to believe Jack Ma, once China's most high-profile billionaire, would fall afoul of state security authorities reveals something of the political reality many Chinese tycoons now live in.
"It doesn't really matter anymore if it's really him. The important thing is: a lot of people think it's him, a lot of people expect it to be him, now that is interesting," said a popular comment on Weibo, which drew 57,000 likes.
The turn in public sentiment against Ma is almost as spectacular as his rags to riches story. Until about three years ago, the English teacher-turned billionaire was widely worshiped for his charisma, outspokenness and self-made success. (He was even nicknamed "Daddy Ma" by some fans).
But as tech companies like Alibaba expanded their businesses empires, they've become the target of growing frustration and resentment among young Chinese workers who are fed up with gruelingly long work hours, high pressure and stagnant pay. (Jack Ma's endorsement of China's so-called "996" work culture, meaning working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week, drew intense criticism in 2019.)
As tech giants fell under the crosshairs of the Chinese government, "evil capitalists" have been increasingly blamed for various social ills, from relentless competition, skyrocketing property prices to lack of social mobility.
"Within just a few years, 'Daddy Ma' has been labeled as a 'rotten capitalist' in public opinion, and many people are looking forward to Ma's downfall," Xiang Dongliang, a blogger, wrote on WeChat.
"But the question is, will bringing down capitalists and driving out (so-called) foreign forces really make everyone's life better?"
Jack Ma has mostly faded from public life and kept a low profile since Ant Group's IPO in the US was halted by regulators in late 2020. Once among the most outspoken figures in China, he hasn't posted anything on Weibo, where he has nearly 25 million followers, since October 2020.
His last Weibo post, about a meeting with some 100 school principals to discuss the future of China's education, was flooded with critical comments.
"I won't be surprised if old Ma is jailed one day," the top comment said. "You're just a capitalist! Don't pretend to be a good person!" another comment screamed.
Jack Ma remained silent throughout Tuesday, as rumors against him swirled on the Chinese internet. Hashtags about the detention of the suspect surnamed Ma were among the top trending topics on Weibo, drawing hundreds of millions of views.
"He has only silence, which is a 'special way of existing'," Zhang Feng, a columnist, wrote in a widely shared WeChat article following the incident.
"This kind of silence is of profound significance. For a public figure, his speech itself is an 'extension' of his existence. When a person no longer speaks up, although he is still alive, still doing things, at least part of him has 'vanished'."

Wow. That's a lot of cash lost on fake news...

[GeneChing]

Jack Ma living in Japan after China tech crackdown: Report (https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/jack-ma-living-japan-tokyo-alibaba-china-tech-crackdown-3111031)

https://onecms-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/s--lqhglckl--/c_crop,h_576,w_1024,x_0,y_80/c_fill,g_auto,h_468,w_830/fl_relative,g_south_east,l_one-cms:core:watermark:afp_watermark,w_0.1/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mediacorp/cna/image/2022/11/30/000_1an0pw.jpg?itok=q5AKafjS
Billionaire Jack Ma reportedly plans to hand over control of Ant Group to appease Chinese regulators. (Photo: AFP)

30 Nov 2022 11:46AM
(Updated: 30 Nov 2022 11:46AM)

TOKYO: Alibaba founder Jack Ma has been living in Tokyo for almost six months after disappearing from public view following China's crackdown on the tech sector, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday (Nov 30), citing multiple unnamed sources.

The billionaire has kept a low profile since the crackdown, which has included Chinese regulators scrapping the IPO of Ma's Ant Group and issuing Alibaba with record fines.

But the FT said he has spent much of the past six months with his family in Tokyo and other parts of Japan, along with visits to the United States and Israel.

The British newspaper said Ma has frequented several private members' clubs in Tokyo, and become an "enthusiastic collector" of Japanese modern art, as well as exploring expanding his business interests into sustainability.

https://onecms-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/s---Er1E6Bo--/c_crop,h_576,w_1024,x_0,y_8/c_fill,g_auto,h_468,w_830/fl_relative,g_south_east,l_one-cms:core:watermark:afp_watermark,w_0.1/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mediacorp/cna/image/2022/11/30/000_9q34hg.jpg?itok=2UJY8IWo
Jack Ma, co-founder and former executive chairman of Chinese Alibaba Group is pictured in Santa Ponsa, on the island of Mallorca on Oct 20, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Jaime Reina)

WHERE IS JACK MA?

Ma has been spotted elsewhere since he effectively disappeared from public view in China, including on the Spanish island of Mallorca last year.

In recent years, Chinese officials have taken aim at alleged anti-competitive practices by some of the country's biggest names, driven by fears that major Internet firms control too much data and expanded too quickly.

This July, a report said Ma planned to hand over control of Ant Group to appease Chinese regulators and revive the digital payments unit's initial public offering.

His e-commerce giant Alibaba reported flat revenue growth in August for the first time, as China battled an economic slowdown and resurgent COVID-19 cases.

US authorities have put the company on a watchlist that could see it delisted in New York if it does not comply with disclosure orders, causing its shares to slump.

Source: AFP/zl
Been wondering...

[GeneChing]

Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba who disappeared from public view in 2020, appears to resurface in Thailand as he prepares to give up control of his company (https://www.businessinsider.com/jack-ma-appears-resurface-thailand-gives-up-control-ant-group-2023-1)
Ryan Hogg Jan 7, 2023, 2:33 AM

https://i.insider.com/584b556fca7f0cdf1e8b4a56?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp
Jack Ma stepped away from public view in 2020 after criticizing Chinese authorities. Stephane Mahe/Reuters

Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, appeared to resurface in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday.
The picture of Ma was posted hours before Ant Group said Ma was giving up control of the company.
Ant Group abandoned a blockbuster float in 2020 soon after Ma criticized Chinese regulations.

By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Jack Ma, the elusive billionaire founder of Alibaba, appeared to resurface in Thailand hours before Ant Group said he would give up control of the company.

Jay Fai restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand posted a picture of Ma on Instagram Friday, where he appears to have just visited the restaurant. "Incredibly humble, we are honored to welcome you and your family to Jay Fai's," the caption on the post reads.

A post shared by JAY FAI (เจ๊ไฝ)⭐️ (@jayfaibangkok)
The post was published hours before The Wall Street Journal first reported that Ma was preparing to give up control of the company he founded.

According to local media, and reported by Reuters, Ma was at the restaurant with Soopakij Chearavanont, the chair of the Charoen Pokphand Group.

Ma was also apparently pictured at a Muay Thai fight on Thursday posing in a fighting stance for a photograph with the Thai boxing champion Sombat "Buakaw" Banchamek.

In a statement published Saturday, a spokesperson for Ant Group, which owns the world's largest mobile-payment platform, Alipay, said the company was streamlining voting rights to prevent any one shareholder from having a controlling vote.

The move would "further enhance the stability of our corporate structure and sustainability of our long-term development," according to the statement.

Ma disappeared from public view in October 2020 after giving a speech criticizing China's financial-regulation system.

Ant Group abandoned plans to list the company on the stock market the following month when Beijing intervened. Once China's richest man, Ma's net worth has fallen by more than $25 billion since he disappeared from public view, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

While Ma doesn't hold an executive role or sit on Ant Group's board, he maintained influence through a separate entity he controlled. The changes announced on Saturday are the latest in a sweeping overhaul at the behest of Chinese authorities.

Ma has maintained a very low profile since his run-in with authorities. The Financial Times suggested in November that he had been living in Tokyo for six months, staying out of the public view and mainly socializing in private members' clubs.

Some think the move could revive hopes of floating Ant, per Reuters, but Chinese regulations that require a pause on listings following a change in control may delay such a move by at least a year. There's some IG links in the original article that I'm not copying here, just because it's not easy to do so...

[GeneChing]

Letter: Ma has self-preservation instinct of a tai chi master (https://www.ft.com/content/a71c31dd-3556-435c-b85e-46609967da85)

From Khaw Wei Kang, Macau

People practice tai chi in Beijing © Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty

FEBRUARY 6 2023

Jack Ma has mastered the art of tai chi, the most authentic Chinese kung fu which focuses on the delicate balance between advance and retreat to achieve not only self-preservation but ultimate winning against all the odds (“China’s reassurances make Ma’s absence all the more conspicuous”, Inside Business, February 1).

After the fateful Shanghai speech at the end of 2020, Ma has stayed low and kicked off his strategic retreat and divestment of his stakes in Alibaba and the Ant Group which has delayed the listing plan for more than two years.

After a brief stay in Japan, Ma has identified Singapore as his “home away from home”. A few years ago Ma’s wife bought a piece of land in the city-state to build a bungalow. Usually foreigners have to seek Singapore government approval to buy freehold land. According to a news report, the need for such an approval was waived. The most likely answer is that she is already a naturalised Singapore citizen.

The earlier market rumour that Ma is building a global headquarters in Singapore was quickly denied by Alibaba in Hangzhou. It reminds me of that well-known Chinese idiom that a cunning rabbit has three burrows.

Khaw Wei Kang
Macau
Intriguing

[GeneChing]

Alibaba founder Jack Ma has returned to China (https://www.britishherald.com/2023/03/27/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-has-returned-to-china/)
Editorial Bureau BY EDITORIAL BUREAU March 27, 2023
https://www.britishherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/FsNzL9TXwAElfit.jpg
Alibaba founder Jack Ma has returned to China, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Capping a more than year-long overseas trip. Which industry observers saw as reflecting the sober mood of China’s private companies.

Jack Ma, one of the most well-known businesspeople, left China in late 2020. And has since been photographed in Japan, Australia, and Thailand.

He was once one of the country’s most outspoken businessmen. But he stepped back from the public eye in late 2020 after criticizing China’s regulatory system. Which was subsequently blamed for sparking a broad regulatory crackdown by Beijing.

While Chinese officials said in recent months that the crackdown had ended. And that they would look for ways to support the private sector. Chinese entrepreneurs said Ma’s decision to remain abroad was a factor undermining confidence.

Following the publication of the SCMP story, Alibaba shares in Hong Kong increased by more than 4%.

The SCMP story did not say when Ma returned to China, but it did say that he visited a school he established in Hangzhou, the home of Alibaba and financial technology company Ant Group, citing sources.

It went on to say that he had returned to China after a short stop in Hong Kong.

Requests for comment were not quickly returned by Alibaba. The school, Yungu Education, announced on WeChat on Monday that Ma had visited its campus and shared photos and a video of the Alibaba founder at the school.

Ma also recently ceded control of Ant Group, a Chinese fintech behemoth, in an overhaul intended to put an end to a broader regulatory crackdown.
We'll see what happens next...