Alibaba profit slumps nearly 60% as tech crackdown, Covid bite

Beijing: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said Thursday its profit fell 59 percent in the last fiscal year, joining other tech firms that reported lacklustre results while grappling with Covid-19 restrictions and a sector crackdown.

China’s economy has been battered by the fallout from strict Covid curbs including lockdowns and transport restrictions that have kept consumers home, pushed up unemployment, and tangled supply chains.

Alibaba has also had to contend with heightened competition and a wide-ranging regulatory crackdown on alleged anti-competitive practices by China’s tech giants, driven by fears that massive internet companies control too much data and expanded too quickly.