Bezos-Saudi spat has e-commerce proxy war 3 Feb 2020 Tensions between Riyadh and the Amazon boss may seem a stateside phenomenon. Yet Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Jeff Bezos have backed different horses in the battle for the $34 billion Middle East e-commerce market. That implies risks for both sides.
Amazon cloud, shipping power puts rivals in shade 30 Jan 2020 Jeff Bezos’s e-tailing giant spent heavily last quarter to fend off Microsoft’s surge in cloud computing and retail rivals with faster shipping. It paid off with rapid growth, a fat bottom line and a return to the trillion-dollar club. That should spur Bezos to invest yet more.
Mukesh Ambani’s empire will be cast in fresh light 2 Jan 2020 India’s richest man can reap two big benefits from carving up his sprawling Reliance Industries. First, he would fulfill a promise to make the $130 bln oil-to-telecom conglomerate almost free of debt. It also should help achieve a higher, tech-like valuation from investors.
Africa’s Alibaba looks more lemon than unicorn 19 Dec 2019 Jumia’s post-IPO limp could be life-threatening. The continent’s first billion-dollar tech firm has just enough cash to make it to 2021. But with losses widening due to high delivery costs and short-sellers questioning online transaction numbers, raising more money will be tough.
Ocado does enough to keep investors believing 29 Nov 2019 The 9 billion pound UK online retailer has signed an e-commerce deal with Japan’s Aeon. Ocado is loss-making, and fees are far-off. But like any tech player, its pitch is more about reassuring investors that a punchy valuation is underpinned by growing demand for its know-how.
Alibaba listing opens new front in Tencent rivalry 27 Nov 2019 Hong Kong investors can own both Chinese tech giants after the e-commerce firm’s $11 bln local offering. If regulators permit, the pair will soon be fighting over mainland shareholders, as well as digital payments and cloud computing. Tencent’s scarcity value has been downgraded.
Japan is surprise bright spot for India’s Paytm 26 Nov 2019 The $16 bln payments giant is thriving in a similarly cash-addicted nation. Flush with cash raised from Ant Financial and others, it could get an extra Tokyo boost as SoftBank leads a rejig with local app Line. Like its startup peers, Paytm may find foreign shores lucrative.
China’s Pinduoduo digs in for a long Alibaba fight 21 Nov 2019 Investors wiped $11 bln off the e-commerce challenger’s market value after it posted a worse-than-expected quarterly loss. The rising cost of wooing consumers is to blame, as Pinduoduo battles its largest rival for big-city shoppers. Profitability just got a little more distant.
Alibaba’s bankers get more buck for their bang 21 Nov 2019 They are being paid the same $30 mln as the printers, but also sold $11 bln of shares that practically sold themselves. Uber’s advisers took a bigger 1.3% cut for a tougher $8 bln deal. For the amount of work involved, Saudi Aramco’s team is reaping the lowest return on effort.
Alibaba logistics deal is hard Singles’ Day sell 11 Nov 2019 The web giant’s online shopping fest kicked off to fanfare on Monday, overshadowing news that Alibaba will invest $3 bln in a subsidiary it already controls. Neither financial details nor strategic rationale were given. Shareholders, unlike shoppers, can’t see this price tag.
Tech firms muscling in on banks, like it or not 5 Nov 2019 Uber and Facebook have designs on finance, and Japanese e-commerce group Rakuten wants to set up a U.S. bank. Community lenders have warded off interlopers before. But if regulators value financial inclusion and customers want innovation, small banks are fighting the tide.
Alibaba readies itself for lighter shopping days 1 Nov 2019 Quarterly sales of $17 bln beat expectations, but growth has come down sharply from a year earlier. Boss Daniel Zhang is shoring up the core e-commerce unit, while investing in new areas. Proceeds of $15 bln from a mooted listing in Hong Kong will also help to soften the blow.
Jeff Bezos will be on Congress’s shopping list 24 Oct 2019 The behemoth entrenched its hold on consumers with 24% quarterly sales growth. Ruthless expansion in areas like ads, where its digital dominance gives it a leg up, along with a push into healthcare, will accelerate a showdown with critics from Donald Trump to Elizabeth Warren.
Alibaba is too old for retro financial nonsense 26 Sep 2019 China’s e-commerce giant figures its $450 bln market cap would more than double if its customers were valued like Amazon’s. That’s a silly comparison for a 20-year-old company with solid growth and profit. A planned Hong Kong listing and the trade war explain the defensive hype.
EBay CEO exit sends warning call to AT&T boss 25 Sep 2019 Devin Wenig is leaving months after Elliott Management politely persuaded the $32 bln online marketplace to sell assets and improve operations. The activist investor has launched a similar campaign against the $273 bln telecom firm. The outcome could be the same.
Kazakh fintech IPO complicated by local quirks 16 Sep 2019 Kaspi.kz combines a bank, a payments business, and an e-commerce marketplace. Its upcoming London listing invites flattering comparisons with established online players. But the peculiarities of the country’s digital economy mean it may struggle to command similar valuations.
Yahoo Japan pushes Zozo investors into new orbit 12 Sep 2019 The SoftBank-backed web portal offered $3.7 bln for control of the ailing fashion site. Zozo’s boss, who bought SpaceX’s first ticket to the moon, is tendering most of his stake. Other owners may want to sell too: Yahoo Japan recently trampled on minority shareholders elsewhere.
Alibaba finds a new ally against an old foe 6 Sep 2019 The Chinese titan is buying part of video-games group NetEase's e-commerce business for $2 bln. More significantly, the two are forging closer ties in music-streaming, where rival Tencent’s dominance is under antitrust scrutiny. That combination paves the way for further deals.
Viewsroom: How money really can grow on trees 5 Sep 2019 Done right, reforestation can capture much of the carbon causing climate change. It would improve crop yields and water quality and lessen the power of floods and storms like Hurricane Dorian. There are good financial returns to reap, too. Plus: the Alibaba competitor to watch.
Next step for China’s Pinduoduo is the hard part 2 Sep 2019 The Groupon-meets-Facebook outfit has established itself as a $38 bln nuisance to larger Alibaba. A savvy mix of social networking, group discounts and heavy marketing did the trick. Those can work only so long, though. It will take an impressive second act to be a killer app.