Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Monday it plans to sell its Chinese e-commerce business Yihaodian to Chinese online retailer JD.com Inc for a 5 per cent equity stake in JD.com, a strategic alliance that aims to expand WalMart&#39;s reach in China. 
 
Under the deal, JD.com will issue about 145 million new class A shares to Wal-Mart, worth about $1.5 billion at JD.com&#39;s current valuation. 
 
Shares of Wal-Mart rose 26 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $71.21 in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading. JD.com&#39;s ADRs were up nearly 8 per cent, or $1.56, at $21.58 
 
Wal-Mart took a stake in Yihaodian, which has focussed on online grocery sales and caters to affluent female customers, in 2011 before taking full ownership last July. 
 
That deal combined Yihaodian&#39;s local expertise with Wal-Mart&#39;s global sourcing and supply chain capabilities, but growth was hindered when Wal-Mart narrowed the number of sellers on the site, according to a note from Barclays issued on Monday. 
 
In the latest agreement, JD.Com, China&#39;s second-largest online retailer, will control the Yihaodian brand and website, while Walmart will continue to operate the Yihaodian direct sales business and will sell on the Yihaodian marketplace. 
 
The deal will give Walmart access to JD.Com&#39;s online traffic and expand its reach into the Chinese market. Sam&#39;s Club China will open a flagship store on JD.Com and utilise its delivery network, the companies said. Walmart&rsquo;s China stores will be listed as a preferred retailer on JD.com&rsquo;s crowd-sourced platform, O2O JV Dada. 
 
Brian Yarbrough, an analyst with Edward Jones, said the deal with JD.com was a more cost-effective way for Wal-Mart to get its products and name in the marketplace by partnering with a large, experienced player. 
 
&quot;It doesn&#39;t mean that they&#39;ve pulled away, but to me it tells me they are trying to make smarter investments,&quot; said Yarbrough. 
 
Walmart&rsquo;s financial adviser on the deal was Morgan Stanley &amp; Co. LLC and its legal advisor was Morrison &amp; Foerster LLP. JD.com&rsquo;s legal advisors were Orrick Herrington Sutcliffe LLP and Han Kun Law Offices. 
 
(Reuters)

The deal will give Walmart access to JD.Com's online traffic and expand its reach into the Chinese market

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Monday it plans to sell its Chinese e-commerce business Yihaodian to Chinese online retailer JD.com Inc for a 5 per cent equity stake in JD.com, a strategic alliance that aims to expand WalMart's reach in China. Under the deal, JD.com will issue about 145 million new class A shares to Wal-Mart, worth about $1.5 billion at JD.com's current valuation. Shares of Wal-Mart rose 26 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $71.21 in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading. JD.com's ADRs were up nearly 8 per cent, or $1.56, at $21.58 Wal-Mart took a stake in Yihaodian, which has focussed on online grocery sales and caters to affluent female customers, in 2011 before taking full ownership last July. That deal combined Yihaodian's local expertise with Wal-Mart's global sourcing and supply chain capabilities, but growth was hindered when Wal-Mart narrowed the number of sellers on the site, according to a note from Barclays issued on Monday. In the latest agreement, JD.Com, China's second-largest online retailer, will control the Yihaodian brand and website, while Walmart will continue to operate the Yihaodian direct sales business and will sell on the Yihaodian marketplace. The deal will give Walmart access to JD.Com's online traffic and expand its reach into the Chinese market. Sam's Club China will open a flagship store on JD.Com and utilise its delivery network, the companies said. Walmart’s China stores will be listed as a preferred retailer on JD.com’s crowd-sourced platform, O2O JV Dada. Brian Yarbrough, an analyst with Edward Jones, said the deal with JD.com was a more cost-effective way for Wal-Mart to get its products and name in the marketplace by partnering with a large, experienced player. "It doesn't mean that they've pulled away, but to me it tells me they are trying to make smarter investments," said Yarbrough. Walmart’s financial adviser on the deal was Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and its legal advisor was Morrison & Foerster LLP. JD.com’s legal advisors were Orrick Herrington Sutcliffe LLP and Han Kun Law Offices. (Reuters)

Wal-Mart to sell its China e-biz to JD.com for 5% stake

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Tuesday that it expects to nearly double its transaction volumes by 2020, signalling it still expects rampant growth as Executive Chairman Jack Ma pledged to intensify a crackdown on fake goods. 
 
At an investor conference at its headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Alibaba said it expects to record 6 trillion yuan ($912 billion) in gross merchandise volume (GMV) in fiscal 2020, nearly double 3.09 trillion yuan in fiscal 2016. 
 
Echoing that growth, Ma said Alibaba expects to have 2 billion consumers on its books by 2036, up from 423 million active buyers in 2016. 
 
Addressing concerns about the company&#39;s efforts to remove counterfeit products from its online platforms, Ma said Alibaba will do &quot;anything to stop the fake products&quot;. The company has been dogged for years by accusations that its shopping platforms were conduits for counterfeiters. 
 
&quot;I promise you guys that counterfeits, fake products, and intellectual property theft - we are more and more confident than ever that we can solve the problem,&quot; he said.

Executive Chairman Jack Ma was even more hopeful long term, stating they'd have 2 billion annual consumers by 2036

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Tuesday that it expects to nearly double its transaction volumes by 2020, signalling it still expects rampant growth as Executive Chairman Jack Ma pledged to intensify a crackdown on fake goods. At an investor conference at its headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Alibaba said it expects to record 6 trillion yuan ($912 billion) in gross merchandise volume (GMV) in fiscal 2020, nearly double 3.09 trillion yuan in fiscal 2016. Echoing that growth, Ma said Alibaba expects to have 2 billion consumers on its books by 2036, up from 423 million active buyers in 2016. Addressing concerns about the company's efforts to remove counterfeit products from its online platforms, Ma said Alibaba will do "anything to stop the fake products". The company has been dogged for years by accusations that its shopping platforms were conduits for counterfeiters. "I promise you guys that counterfeits, fake products, and intellectual property theft - we are more and more confident than ever that we can solve the problem," he said.

Alibaba expects to record $912 billion by 2020, even amid concerns it sells counterfeit products

The who&#39;s who of America Inc, including e-commerce giant Amazon&#39;s Jeff Bezos, PepsiCo&#39;s Indra Nooyi, Boeing&#39;s Mark Allen and Lockheed Martin&#39;s Marillyn Hewson, attended the roundtable held at Central Green Room Gallery of Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. 
 
Bezos announced that his company will invest an additional $3 billion in India, Amazon&#39;s fastest growing region. This will boost Amazon&#39;s committed investment in India to over $5 billion. 
 
Foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in a tweet that Modi invited the US business leaders &quot;to work more closely with India and in India&quot;. 
 
The Prime Minister also &quot;outlined strengths of Indian economy and its talented workforce,&quot; Swarup posted on Twitter. 
 
US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and several top Indian business leaders were also present at the meeting. 
 
Earlier in the day, Modi held a closed-door meeting with Obama during which they discussed significant issues of bilateral interests. 
 
Prior to the US, the Indian prime minister visited Afghanistan, Qatar and Switzerland on his five-nation tour aimed at expanding India&#39;s trade, energy and security cooperation. He will end his tour in Mexico.

Amazon's founder and CEO Jeff Bezos announced that the e-commerce giant will invest an additional $3 billion in India

The who's who of America Inc, including e-commerce giant Amazon's Jeff Bezos, PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi, Boeing's Mark Allen and Lockheed Martin's Marillyn Hewson, attended the roundtable held at Central Green Room Gallery of Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. Bezos announced that his company will invest an additional $3 billion in India, Amazon's fastest growing region. This will boost Amazon's committed investment in India to over $5 billion. Foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in a tweet that Modi invited the US business leaders "to work more closely with India and in India". The Prime Minister also "outlined strengths of Indian economy and its talented workforce," Swarup posted on Twitter. US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and several top Indian business leaders were also present at the meeting. Earlier in the day, Modi held a closed-door meeting with Obama during which they discussed significant issues of bilateral interests. Prior to the US, the Indian prime minister visited Afghanistan, Qatar and Switzerland on his five-nation tour aimed at expanding India's trade, energy and security cooperation. He will end his tour in Mexico.

Indian PM Modi meets top US CEOs in Washington

Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank announced Wednesday they are planning to sell at least $ 7.9 billion (USD) of its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, as it looks to pay down a whopping debt load. 
 
The move will reduce SoftBank&#39;s 32.2 per cent holding in the Chinese company to about 28 per cent with the sale, it said, adding that proceeds would be earmarked to pay down debts. 
 
SoftBank said in a statement it has &quot;approved of a series of capital raising transactions, which involve monetising a portion of the shares of Alibaba&quot;. 
 
The Japanese mobile carrier, led by Masayoshi Son, first made its investment in Alibaba in 2000. 
 
&quot;This investment has been phenomenally successful and, over the past 16 years, we have built a close relationship, working together on 
many exciting projects,&quot; Son said in the statement, adding that the pair would continue to work together. 
 
Led by Son, SoftBank launched an acquisition streak that saw it pick up an assortment of firms, including its $16 billion purchase of US-based mobile giant Sprint. 
 
But the buying spree has put pressure on SoftBank&#39;s finances, and the firm also announced earlier this year it would buy back more than 14 per cent of its stock at a cost of about 500 billion yen. 
 
&nbsp;As per the official statement, Son and Alibaba&#39;s executive chairman Jack Ma will remain on the board of the other&#39;s firms 
 
&quot;Under the leadership of Masayoshi Son, SoftBank has been a highly valued, long-time partner of Alibaba for more than 16 years, and we look forward to continuing our strong partnership together,&quot; Ma said in a separate statement. 
 
&quot;As SoftBank looks to strengthen its own balance sheet, Alibaba determined that it was the best use of our capital to re-invest in our own business through an efficient buyback of a large number of shares in our own company that is accretive to our stockholders.&quot; 
 
SoftBank said Alibaba itself would buy back at least USD 2.0 billion worth of the shares it is selling. 
 
SoftBank has seen its profits boosted thanks to Alibaba&#39;s record USD 25 billion market debut in 2014 in New York. 
Today&#39;s announcement came after the Chinese online giant disclosed last week that US securities regulators were probing its accounting for possible violations of US securities laws. 
 
SoftBank shares rose more than two percent shortly after the opening bell today. 
 
Alibaba&#39;s US-listed shares declined 3.1 per cent yesterday after the announcement of SoftBank&#39;s planned share sale. (AFP)

Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank today said it will sell at least $ 7.9 billion (USD) of its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, as it looks to pay down a whopping debt.

Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank announced Wednesday they are planning to sell at least $ 7.9 billion (USD) of its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, as it looks to pay down a whopping debt load. The move will reduce SoftBank's 32.2 per cent holding in the Chinese company to about 28 per cent with the sale, it said, adding that proceeds would be earmarked to pay down debts. SoftBank said in a statement it has "approved of a series of capital raising transactions, which involve monetising a portion of the shares of Alibaba". The Japanese mobile carrier, led by Masayoshi Son, first made its investment in Alibaba in 2000. "This investment has been phenomenally successful and, over the past 16 years, we have built a close relationship, working together on many exciting projects," Son said in the statement, adding that the pair would continue to work together. Led by Son, SoftBank launched an acquisition streak that saw it pick up an assortment of firms, including its $16 billion purchase of US-based mobile giant Sprint. But the buying spree has put pressure on SoftBank's finances, and the firm also announced earlier this year it would buy back more than 14 per cent of its stock at a cost of about 500 billion yen. As per the official statement, Son and Alibaba's executive chairman Jack Ma will remain on the board of the other's firms "Under the leadership of Masayoshi Son, SoftBank has been a highly valued, long-time partner of Alibaba for more than 16 years, and we look forward to continuing our strong partnership together," Ma said in a separate statement. "As SoftBank looks to strengthen its own balance sheet, Alibaba determined that it was the best use of our capital to re-invest in our own business through an efficient buyback of a large number of shares in our own company that is accretive to our stockholders." SoftBank said Alibaba itself would buy back at least USD 2.0 billion worth of the shares it is selling. SoftBank has seen its profits boosted thanks to Alibaba's record USD 25 billion market debut in 2014 in New York. Today's announcement came after the Chinese online giant disclosed last week that US securities regulators were probing its accounting for possible violations of US securities laws. SoftBank shares rose more than two percent shortly after the opening bell today. Alibaba's US-listed shares declined 3.1 per cent yesterday after the announcement of SoftBank's planned share sale. (AFP)

SoftBank to sell part of stake in China's Alibaba for $7.9 billion

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Wal-Mart to sell its China e-biz to JD.com for 5% stake

Alibaba expects to record $912 billion by 2020, even amid concerns it sells counterfeit products

Indian PM Modi meets top US CEOs in Washington

SoftBank to sell part of stake in China's Alibaba for $7.9 billion