Chinese authorities have asked Beijing-based online shopping conglomerate Alibaba to sell its media sector assets, including the Hong Kong South China Morning Post title, in a move calculated to reduce the company's large media profile.
In addition to the English-language newspaper the South China Morning Post, Alibaba owns mainland social media website Weibo and video sharing app Bilibili, as well as large stakes in several U.S.-listed groups.
The e-commerce company partnered with the government to back several state-run media organizations, including international news group Xinhua and provincial-level newspapers operated by the Communist Party of China.
But these assets may soon change hands, according to The Wall Street Journal, as China's government looks to curb the clout of a company whose retired founder, Jack Ma, recently caught the attention of financial regulators.
In November, Alibaba-affiliated fintech Ant Group's dual listing was put on hold indefinitely after Ma criticized financial regulations in the country ahead of a proposed initial public offering of affiliated financial platform Ant Group. By December, Alibaba itself was the subject of a government investigation into anti-competitive business practices.
It remains to be seen whether Alibaba, which reported more than $72 billion in revenue last year, will be required to divest entirely from its affiliated news groups or may retain a reduced stake, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
Chinese officials were "appalled" at the company's expansive collection of media assets, the report said, and requested that Alibaba "substantially" reduce its media holdings.
This is only the latest attempt by state authorities to reign in the e-commerce group, and follows recent reports of regulator plans to hit Alibaba with an anti-competitive practice fine likely to exceed $1 billion.
