Once the most valuable company in China, Alibaba has struggled since Beijing launched a sweeping crackdown on the private sector more than a year ago. The Chinese government forced Alibaba’s finance affiliate, Ant Group Co., to call off what would have been the world’s largest initial public offering in 2020, and then instituted a series of reforms that have undercut Alibaba’s business model.
Alibaba Group Holding reported the slowest revenue growth since it went public, underscoring how China’s crackdown on its technology sector is taking a financial toll on the e-commerce giant.
Sales rose 9.7% for the three months ending in December, far below the 40%-plus growth that was common before the government scrutiny began, as consumer spending slows and competition intensifies. Net income tumbled 74% to 20.4 billion yuan ($4.37 billion; US$3.2 billion), after the company took a big hit from losses in its global investment portfolio.
