Alibaba joins a growing number of its largest peers in promising to give back after accumulating vast wealth during a decade-long mobile internet boom. Pinduoduo Inc., the fast-rising online commerce giant now challenging Alibaba in the countryside, pledged its next US$1.5 billion ($2.02 billion) in profit to farmers’ welfare. Tencent Holdings Ltd., China’s most valuable company, said last month it will double the amount of money it’s allocating for social responsibility programs to about US$15 billion.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. pledged 100 billion yuan ($20.8 billion) over five years toward Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” vision, becoming the latest tech giant to bankroll China’s broad aim to share the wealth.
China’s second-largest company will spread the money between 10 initiatives encompassing technology investment and support for small companies, the government-backed Zhejiang Daily reported Thursday. An Alibaba spokesperson confirmed the report, without elaborating. The company’s shares were little changed in New York trading.
