Alibaba Predicts Strong Sales in a Sign of Strength From China -<br />By PAUL MOZURJUNE 8, 2017<br />The Alibaba Group signaled on Thursday that for all the global worries about China’s rising debt<br />and bloated state industries, its economy still enjoys a strong pillar of support: online shoppers.<br />During a speech at the conference, Alibaba’s chief financial officer, Maggie Wu, said<br />that the company expected revenue for the year that will end next March to grow between 45 percent and 49 percent.<br />Alibaba’s shares, which trade in New York, rose 13 percent on Thursday, continuing a run<br />that has taken them to their highest levels since the Chinese company raised $25 billion three years ago in what was then the world’s largest initial public offering.<br />Still, the ranks of China’s online shoppers grew nearly 13 percent last year to a considerable 467<br />million, according to official statistics, showing the already vast market is still growing.<br />During her speech, Ms. Wu said the company got about 60 percent of its revenue from its Alimama advertising platform,<br />which works as an auction site on which Alibaba’s many vendors can bid for advertising space on its sites.<br />Alibaba and its largest rival, a Chinese games-and-social-media conglomerate called Tencent Holdings, have seen their shares surge over the past year as they report strong profits<br />that suggest Chinese consumers still have a desire to spend.
