Taobao China Software to sell Suning.com stake to Alibaba affiliate

ALIBABA’S Taobao China Software will sell its 20 per cent stake in Chinese retailer Suning.com to another Alibaba affiliate, Hangzhou Haoyue Enterprise Management for 2.8 billion yuan (S$523 million), Suning.com said in a filing on Friday (Feb 23).

The valuation of the Suning stake is far smaller than the US$4.6 billion the Chinese e-commerce giant paid for it in 2015, representing a roughly 90 per cent loss.

The Alibaba-owned South China Morning Post newspaper reported in December that Alibaba had transferred shares in at least seven listed companies including YTO Express and Focus Media to Hangzhou Haoyue Enterprise Management, a vehicle it created in October.

Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reasons behind this move.

The company is undergoing the largest restructuring in its 24-year history and said earlier this month it was looking to sell some of its traditional physical retail businesses. REUTERS