Alibaba Eyes Growth In Other Markets As US Ties Strained, Says Chairman

Alibaba Group Holding BABA Chairman Joe Tsai urged Asian companies to explore inter-Asia opportunities and the European market for growth amid intensifying geopolitical tensions.

During a tech conference in Macau on Saturday, Tsai alleged some governments were hampering the bridge between Asia and the rest of the world, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.

Tsai highlighted ample inter-Asia business activity, signifying the potential for engagement between East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.

Also Read: Alibaba Cloud’s Wang Jian Predicts Rapid AI Growth, Highlights Youth, Innovation As Key Drivers

He also mentioned Europe as an opportunity for Asian companies.

Recently, Washington and Beijing agreed to temporarily lower tariffs on each other’s products. The agreement will reduce US levies of 145% on most Chinese imports to 30%, while China’s 125% duties on U.S. goods will drop to 10% for 90 days.

The Trump administration has also raised concerns over Apple Inc’s AAPL potential iPhone AI deal with Alibaba to salvage its market share in the country.

Apple lost market share in the country to government-incentivized local vendors amid intensifying geopolitical tensions with Washington.

China also mandated that international companies tap a domestic company as a primary partner, prompting Apple to forge partnerships with Chinese companies.

On Saturday, Tsai told Bloomberg that Alibaba was on “a very good path” and reiterated the company’s focus on e-commerce and AI.

Alibaba Group stock surged over 42% year-to-date. It had reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue growth of 7% to $32.58 billion, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $33.08 billion. It clocked an adjusted earnings per ADS of $1.73, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.48. 

Price Actions: BABA stock is down 1.02% at $119.50 at the last check on Tuesday.

Read Next:

• Alibaba Says It Can Slash AI Training Costs By 90% With Newly Launched ZEROSEARCH — Here’s What It Does

Image via Shutterstock