// Alibaba’s president Michael Evans says China’s economy has slowed down
// Its shares dipped 1.3% following the news
// Further concerns raised about looming trade war with the US and increasing regulation
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Alibaba’s shares dipped yesterday after its president Michael Evans cautioned that the retailer’s key Chinese market had slowed down.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Evans, speaking at the National Retail Federation’s conference yesterday, said the Chinese economy had “slowed down”.
“As a $13 trillion economy, it would be quite unusual if it could continue to grow at seven per cent or eight per cent,” he said, attributing the slowdown to both natural causes and the looming trade war with the US.
Over 90 per cent of Alibaba’s revenues come from its home country of China, where retail sales growth hit a 15-year low last year.
This sent the tech giant’s stock dipping 1.35 per cent before close yesterday, despite trading up for most of the day.
Further concerns have been raised regarding uncertainty surrounding a potential backlash against tech companies this year, alongside speculation on how the Chinese government will change regulation.
This follows news yesterday that Alibaba has launched a new A100 Strategic Partnership programme, where it offers access to its high-tech solutions to its retail partners.
The move could be seen a shift towards services in the wake of a potential crackdown on its retail operations.
Other tech giants like Apple has succumb to similar concerns regarding a slowdown in China, announcing a profit warning earlier this month in light of slowing iPhone sales in China.
It too is looking towards services to offset falling retail sales, with chief executive Tim Cook revealing plans to double Apple’s services arm, which includes the App Store, iTunes, Apple Pay, Apple Music and iCloud, by the end of 2020.
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