Alibaba Builds Digital Infrastructure for New Covid Normal, CEO Zhang Says
Zhang Yushuo
DATE:  Jul 10 2020
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Alibaba Builds Digital Infrastructure for New Covid Normal, CEO Zhang Says Alibaba Builds Digital Infrastructure for New Covid Normal, CEO Zhang Says

(Yicai Global) July 10 -- Digitization is the new norm as Covid-19 recontours the terrain, and Alibaba Group Holding will continue to build and develop infrastructure for the digital economy, Daniel Zhang, its chairman and chief executive said today in the company’s first letter to shareholders since his accession to the chairmanship.

Alibaba has assembled a digital economy ecology that encompasses commerce, finance, logistics and Big Data, powered by cloud computing, and has become the essential infrastructure for businesses pursuing digital transformation across all sectors, he said, adding the Hangzhou-based firm will continue to do this for the digital economy.

Zhang stressed the firm's goals in the letter are to serve over 1 billion consumers in China and achieve gross merchandise volume over CNY10 trillion (USD1.4 trillion) in the next five years. Longer-term goals are to serve 2 billion consumers globally, create 100 million jobs, and provide the necessary infrastructure to support 10 million small businesses in becoming profitable on its platforms by 2036.

"[Alibaba's] digital economy infrastructure -- from digital commerce to digital finance to logistics to cloud computing -- empowers the whole society with the potential and opportunity to innovate and incubate even more new ideas.," Zhang said.

Covid-19 has catalyzed development of brand-new digital solutions in life, work, education, business management and public services, Zhang noted. During the pandemic, all brands under Alibaba, including Taobao, Alipay, Cainiao, Alibaba Cloud, DingTalk, Hema and Taobao Live have supplied products and services that have helped to improve consumers lives.

Alibaba's first-quarter revenue was CNY114.31 billion, up 22 percent despite the economic fallout of the pandemic, while its annual revenue was CNY509.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, up 25 percent from a year earlier.

Alibaba's shares [NYSE:BABA] closed up 1.51 percent at USD261.58 yesterday to give the firm a USD701.75 billion market cap.

In online retailing, GMV charts a total cash value for goods sold via a defined marketplace over a given time span. Site revenue comes from fees and thus differs from the cash value of items sold.

Editor: Ben Armour

Follow Yicai Global on
Keywords:   Alibaba,digitization,infrastructure,Daniel Zhang