Another Merger Within China’s Internet Travel Sector

Chinese online tourism service provider Ly.com announced a full acquisition of Shanghai Meichen International Travel Service Co. Ltd. This is reportedly the second Chinese travel agency acquired by Ly.com over the past two months. The first one was Nantong Huihuang International Travel Service Co. Ltd. Founded in 2005, Shanghai Meichen International Travel Service is a […]

Alibaba’s South China Morning Post Purchase Puts Focus On News Coverage

Chinese e-commerce boss Jack Ma is emulating America’s Amazon.com boss Jeff Bezos, who recently purchased The Washington Post, by purchasing his own media empire in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post. Alibaba Group Holding Limited says it has entered into a definite agreement to acquire the South China Morning Post and other media assets […]

What Chilling Effect Would Alibaba’s Investment Have On Free Media?

The e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is reportedly planning a newspaper investment in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, according to multiple reports in Chinese local media. However, neither side has commented on or verified the news. South China Morning Post is reportedly the largest English-language newspaper in Hong Kong, with a circulation of about 110,000 […]

Chinese E-Commerce Eyes Stability During Year’s Biggest Shopping Day

In the West, today is the remembrance of the end of World War One. But in China, November 11 is Singles’ Day and the entire country has prepared for an online sales onslaught. In 2014, Alibaba posted more than USD9 billion in sales on China’s Singles’ Day. And this year rivals JD.com and Suning hope […]

Tmall.com Teams With Oil Giant For Mobile Payments

Chinese B2C e-commerce platform Tmall.com and China National Petroleum Corporation’s Hunan branch will integrate their resources to launch a mobile payment service model. Tmall.com, which is a subsidiary of Alibaba, said that the company will integrate Alibaba’s ecosphere to help CNPC Hunan implement an “Internet Plus” transformation that includes an online store, mobile payment, big […]

Uniqlo Closes Chinese Internet Shopping Retail Site

Days after a sex video filmed in Uniqlo’s Beijing store blew up the Chinese Internet, the Japanese apparel retailer says it has closed its flagship store on JD.com. The store was shuttered on July 20, 2015, after only three months of operation. On April 8, 2015, Uniqlo and JD signed a cooperation agreement and Uniqlo’s […]

China’s Online Travel Sector Finds Big New Investment

Who said only Ctrip and eLong ruled the Chinese Internet travel world? LY.com, one of China’s many privately-run travel booking websites, announced that they have gained over CNY6 billion new investments from Wanda Culture Industry Group, Tencent Industry Win-Win Fund, and CITIC Capital. As the lead investor, Wanda Culture Industry Group invested CNY3.58 billion in […]

Foreign Governments Join Chinese E-commerce Leader To Promote Global Trade

Alibaba is working directly with foreign embassies in China to expand its influence and sales potential around the world. The e-commerce company has opened 11 official country pavilions on its Tmall Global platform and cooperative partnerships between Juhuasuan, Alibaba’s group-buying platform, and 26 foreign embassies in China. A total of 11 countries, including United States, […]

Possible Class Action Suit Against Alibaba For Disclosure Failures

Alibaba and its executives may feel the sting of American jurisprudence as law firms line up for possible class action lawsuits in the United States against the Chinese e-commerce company. At least five law firms so far have expressed intentions to commence class actions against Alibaba. For example, a complain from Robbins Geller Rudman & […]

Renren Kills Non-core Chinese Internet Businesses

Chen Yizhou, chief executive officer of Renren, says the company is planning to sell some non-core businesses to improve their profitability and they are also considering investment and expansion opportunities in America and Hong Kong. Chen revealed during an interview with local Chinese media that under the current model it is hard for the company […]

JD.com Teams With China Post To Expand O2O To Small Chinese Towns

Chinese B2C e-commerce website JD.com and China Post Group have reached a strategic deal to jointly develop an e-commerce platform targeting cities below third-tier size in China. With the cooperation, JD.com will provide various products, including PCs, digital products, home and kitchen supplies, and cosmetics, for China Post’s “people-benefit project”. Those products will reach 13 […]

South Korea’s Lotte.com Inks Internet Payment Deal With China’s Alipay

Chinese third-party Internet payment company Alipay revealed that the company has reached a deal with South Korean website Lotte.com to provide a RMB payment channel to Chinese users who shop on the website. Furthermore, the products purchased on the website will be directly shipped from South Korea to China. Lotte.com and the Lotte duty free […]

PBOC Halts Virtual Credit Cards And Mobile Payments In China

The People’s Bank of China has issued an emergency alert to stop the use of virtual credit card products as well as two-dimensional code payments that are often used with mobile devices. Chinese Internet companies like Alipay and Tencent previously launched such services. However, neither company has given any comment on the situation. The emergency […]

Suning Acquires Group Buying Site Manzuo.com

Suning Commerce Group confirmed that the company will acquire Chinese group buying website Manzuo.com for nearly USD10 million. According to a representative from Suning, as a new business model which integrates online and offline channels, the business has a broad market capability in China. Group buying is a catalyst that promotes the integration of online […]

JD.com Goes Social With Mobile Instant Messaging App

Chinese B2C e-commerce website JD.com announced the launch of its free instant messaging product “Jingdong Dongdong” for individual users. This product is mainly used for communications between individual users. It also has a customer service consulting function. JD.com previously released the PC beta version of this product and the one launched this time is an […]

Tencent Adjusts E-commerce Subsidiary Structure In China

According to an internal email reportedly sent by Bu Guangqi, chief executive officer of Tencent’s e-commerce subsidiary 51buy.com, the company will implement a structural adjustment, aiming at sales of CNY15 billion to CNY20 billion in 2013.