Alibaba Network Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as: Alibaba Group or Alibaba) is a company founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province by 18 people headed by Jack Ma, a former English teacher.
Alibaba Group operates a variety of businesses, and also obtains support for operating a business ecosystem from the businesses and services of affiliated companies. The businesses and affiliated companies include: Taobao, Tmall, Juhuasuan, AliExpress, Alibaba International Trading Market, 1688, Alimama, Alibaba Cloud, Ant Financial, Cainiao Network, etc.
On September 19, 2014, Alibaba Group was officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange, creating the largest IPO record in history. The stock code is "BABA" and the founder is Jack Ma. On November 26, 2019, Alibaba was listed on the Hong Kong stock market, with a total market value of over 4 trillion, reaching the top of the Hong Kong stock market and becoming the "new stock king" of the Hong Kong stock market.
On September 6, 2019, Alibaba Group announced the US$2 billion wholly-owned acquisition of NetEase Kaola and led the US$700 million financing of NetEase Cloud Music. On September 1, 2019, the 2019 China's Top 500 Service Enterprises list was released in Jinan, with Alibaba Group Holding Co., Ltd. ranked 24th. In October 2019, it ranked 10th on the 2019 Forbes Global Top 100 Digital Economy list. On October 23, 2019, the 2019 Fortune Future 50 list was announced, with Alibaba Group ranking 11th. Ranked 5th on the list of the top 100 Chinese enterprises along the Belt and Road Initiative. On November 16, Hurun Research Institute released the "2019 Hurun Global Unicorn Top 100 Active Investment Institutions List", with Alibaba ranking 7th. In December 2019, Alibaba Group was selected into the 100 Model Brands at the 2019 China Brand Power Ceremony. On January 11, 2020, the first day of the Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Rat, Alibaba announced that it would become the exclusive e-commerce partner and provide e-commerce subsidies.
In September 1999, 18 founders led by Jack Ma formally established the Alibaba Group in an apartment in Hangzhou. The group's first website was the English-language global wholesale trade market Alibaba. In the same year, Alibaba Group launched the China Trading Market (now known as "1688") focusing on domestic wholesale trade.
In October 1999, Alibaba Group raised US$5 million from several investment institutions.
In January 2000, Alibaba Group raised US$20 million from SoftBank and other investment institutions.
In September 2000, Alibaba Group held the first West Lake Forum, bringing together business and opinion leaders in the Internet industry to discuss important issues in the industry.
In December 2001, the number of registered users of Alibaba exceeded 1 million.
In December 2002, Alibaba Group achieved positive cash inflow for the whole year for the first time.
In May 2003, the shopping website Taobao was founded in Jack Ma's apartment.
In February 2004, Alibaba Group raised US$82 million from several first-tier investment institutions, becoming the largest private equity financing in China's Internet industry at that time.
Jack Ma and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son
In June 2004, Alibaba Group held its first Internet Business Conference, during which the first Top Ten Online Business Awards Ceremony was held.
In July 2004, Taobao released Aliwangwang, a PC version of the communication software that allows buyers and sellers to communicate in real-time via text, voice and video.
In December 2004, Alipay, a third-party online payment platform of Alibaba Group affiliates, was launched.
On August 11, 2005, Alibaba and Yahoo announced that they had signed a cooperation agreement. Alibaba would acquire all the assets of Yahoo China, receive a US$1 billion investment from Yahoo, and enjoy the rights to Yahoo's brand and technology in China. Exclusive use rights; Yahoo obtains 40% of Alibaba’s economic interests and 35% of voting rights.
In October 2005, Alibaba Group took over Yahoo China.
Management and employees celebrate the company's first financial milestone
In July 2006, Taobao University courses were launched to provide e-commerce training and education to buyers and sellers.
On October 30, 2006, Alibaba Group completed its strategic investment in the localized lifestyle community platform Koubei.com.
On January 9, 2007, Alibaba Group announced in Shanghai that its subsidiary Alibaba Software was officially established.
In November 2007, Alibaba Network Co., Ltd. was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In the same month, Alibaba Group established the online advertising platform Alimama.
In April 2008, Taobao launched Taobao Mall, which focuses on serving third-party brands and retailers.
Taobao Mall Establishment Celebration
On June 4, 2008, Alibaba Group integrated Yahoo China and Koubei.com to establish Yahoo Koubei Company.
On September 4, 2008, Alibaba Group announced the merger of Taobao and Alimama