Alibaba’s shares sank as much as 4.3% in early Hong Kong trading, extending a volatile streak that began with a selloff of more than US$60 billion earlier this week. The company enjoys a close relationship with Ant, whose Alipay mobile wallet anchors the majority of Alibaba’s e-commerce transactions and whose microlending services drive consumption. In response to a question about the extent to which Ant loans lead to online shopping, executives said the company doesn’t quantify that traffic.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s revenue grew at its slowest pace on record for a September quarter, underscoring how the e-commerce giant’s post-pandemic rebound is starting to plateau.
Asia’s largest corporation reported a 30% rise in sales in the September quarter, in line with expectations but down a tad from the previous three months. That did little to reassure investors worried about the tightening regulatory scrutiny that forced Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. to call off its US$35 billion ($47.39 billion) IPO. Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang would only say it’s evaluating the impact on its business from more stringent rules governing its 32%-owned sister company.
