Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) announced today it has signed
a strategic agreement with Shanghai Media Group (“SMG”) to leverage both
companies’ Internet technology and media resources in order to penetrate
China’s financial information services industry.
As part of the strategic agreement, Alibaba Group intends to invest
RMB1.2 billion ($193.6 million) into China Business News (CBN), a
leading Chinese financial media company under SMG, to create a financial
data and information services company that will help Chinese small and
medium enterprises tap a rich mine of financial data. By utilizing
Alibaba Group’s big data and cloud computing capabilities, both
companies will jointly develop a comprehensive financial data and
information platform that will provide users with timely financial news
and information in order to enhance their investment and financial
decision-making capabilities.
The aim of this platform is to raise the bar on enterprise efficiency in
China by leveling the information playing field. By giving a greater
number of Chinese enterprises access to precious financial data that can
be easily mined and analyzed for actionable investment and business
decisions, this platform is expected to help these enterprises scale and
expand their businesses.
Currently, Alipay and CBN are collaborating to provide users with stock
quote information and CBN’s wealth management information product will
also soon launch on Mobile Taobao. Alipay is part of Ant Financial
Services Group, a related party of Alibaba Group. Alibaba Group and SMG
will also work toward enhancing digital and traditional media
convergence in the industry through the launch of innovative new media
products for the market.
“The era of Data Technology is here and it will surpass the Information
Technology era. The DT era is about transparency, sharing of information
and enabling others. Alibaba is excited about the possibilities of the
DT era and how it can bring value to society,” said Alibaba Group
Founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma.
This strategic agreement with SMG is expected to help Alibaba Group
develop DT-era products and services to enrich the lives of Chinese
users, be it in academia, business or media sectors. Alibaba Group
Strategic Decision Committee member Tiger Wang and CBN Chairman LI Rong
participated in the signing ceremony in Shanghai.
Through this tie-up, CBN is well-poised to expand its financial media
information services and continue to innovate in China’s traditional
financial media industry. CBN is China’s leading financial media group
with a variety of media assets, such as television, radio, newspaper,
magazine and news agencies.
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The
company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world
in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company
provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach
to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an
online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of
consumers and other businesses.
Alibaba Group’s major businesses include:
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Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com),
China's largest online shopping destination
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Tmall.com (www.tmall.com),
China’s largest third-party platform for brands and retailers
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Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com),
China’s most popular online group buying marketplace
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Alitrip (www.alitrip.com),
a leading online travel booking platform
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AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com),
a global online marketplace for consumers to buy directly from China
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Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com),
China’s largest global online wholesale platform for small businesses
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1688.com (www.1688.com),
a leading online wholesale marketplace in China
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Aliyun (www.aliyun.com),
a provider of cloud computing services to businesses and entrepreneurs
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