Alibaba Offering Houses To Its Employees On Discounted Price

Alibaba is building houses to accommodate its employees at a discounted rate and it's logistics affiliate Cainao has completed a financing round

The Chinese e-commerce company is establishing apartments to sell to its workers at a 40% discount, according to reports.

There are total 380 apartments with-in the range from 87 to 118 sq. meters constructed in Hangzhou, China. As per reports by People’s Daily, the completion of the construction will be done by 2018.

Eligible workers will draw a lot from the opportunity to purchase the houses. In order to become eligible, they should have worked at the company for around three years and be serving in M3 (senior manager) jobs or lower.

These apartments will be offered at a price of $1548 per sq. meter (10,000 yuan) whereas the rest of the properties in the region are available at a price ranging from $2632.17 to $3096.67. Alibaba isn’t the only China based company to provide housing to its employees. Apartments are offered by Evergande Group to its newly hired staff free of charge.

Free apartments are also offered by Hengda Group to its workers and after a particular number of years if they plan to buy the house the company also provide them a discount. Affordable housing is also guaranteed by Chinese telecom and equipment service provider Huawei to its employees located near Shenzhen headquarters and factory.

In other news, as per reports of Reuters a financing round has been completed by Alibaba’s logistics division today.

In this, a number of investors have participated which includes the China based investment company Primavera, Malaysian strategic investment company Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Singaporean state owned investment company Temasek Holdings and strategic investment corporation GIC Pte Ltd.

The Hanzgzhou based organization didn’t reveal many details regarding the amount of money raised by Cainiao, whether the company had to issue equity stock or the valuation of its logistics unit.

That’s the first financing round of Cainiao since it was established by Alibaba 3 years ago, the online retail company stated. Then, Alibaba as well as a group of China based logistics service providers stated they would pay $15.4 billion (100 billion yuan) over 5 to 8 years to establish a nationwide logistics network.

The company seeks a leading role in the developing fragmented package delivery sector of China, as online trading industry extends beyond urban centers and needs a more strong  logistics infrastructure. In collaboration with delivery service providers, reams of data are crunched by Cainao on anything from delivery routes, weather patterns and order trends to improve efficiency.

The organization stated it and investors would work together to further establish out its "big data logistics network". The country’s leading e-commerce organization has been battling stiff rivalry from its smaller competitor J.D com, which prioritizes the control over a huge logistics network, such as Amazon with its loss-making business model.

Alibaba Expands E-commerce Logistics Cooperation With SingPost

The Chinese online seller has collaborated with SingPost to expand e-commerce logistics cooperation.

The Chinese ecommerce giant, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., has collaborated with the Singapore Post Limited (SingPost). Alibaba news reported that both companies have jointly proclaimed a series of measures for expansion and cooperation following the ratification of a joint venture agreement. The announced measures would not only deepen the business relationship that was initiated last year, but also develop an online selling platform to serve the enterprises across Asia pacific and beyond.

Alibaba news today disclosed that the online retailing enterprise would invest approximately US$67.85 million in the 34% shares of the Quantium Solutions International (QSI). The Singaporean organization would control the rest of the stock. Press sources indicated that SingPost-owned QSI is currently known for providing logistics support to the Asia Pacific region. Its infrastructure caters to more than 10 countries.

Alibaba breaking news exclaimed that QSI would re-establish its business and become a part of the two companies’ venture. This will allow it to speed up its process of developing its e-commerce logistics network and services. The Chinese enterprise would acquire 107,553,907 ordinary stocks amounting to 5% of the existing share capital of SingPost for US$138.6 million. The transaction would increase the Asian giant’s deemed interest by 3.28%.

Both Asian businesses have also jointly developed a strategic business development platform to further enhance integration and effectiveness of ecommerce logistics solutions. The enterprises would share their knowledge and work with each other strengths across the trading logistical chain.

Chairman of SingPost, Mr. Lim Ho Kee, has stated that SingPost has transformed at a steady pace. As a postal service, it is suffering from falling mail revenue due to trends, such as lifestyle changes and electronic substitution. He further added that both companies have benefitted from the deal, as they share similar objectives and their operations are connected to each other.

CEO of Alibaba Group, Daniel Zhang, has stated over the past 12 months, the two organizations have collaborated to identify cross border opportunities and created a set of logistics solutions for various markets. He added that this additional investment highlights the commitment to dominate the global world, which would in turn, let Chinese enterprises and global brands supply more to the world.

Professionals have claimed that the partnership between the Asian enterprises would not only help to extend their customer base, but also improve their reputation in the modern digital world. The management of both partners should now formulate plans to develop high-tech solutions in the most effective manner or their collaboration might fail to appease their customers.

Alibaba is known for its struggles to enter other nations, including USA. It has realized the potential of global markets, but it should keep an eye out for the rising challenges along with it.