Alibaba Warns Virus Having Broad Impact on Chinese Economy
- CEO warns of significant impact from epidemic across the board
- Alibaba will grapple with uncertain outbreak fallout in 2020
Employees sort out parcels at a logistics base of China Post during Singles' Day.
Source: VCG/Visual China Group
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. warned that the coronavirus responsible for killing more than 1,300 people in China is exerting a fundamental impact on the country’s consumers and merchants, and will hurt its revenue growth in the current quarter.
Alibaba, the first major Chinese technology corporation to report results since the epidemic emerged in January, said the virus is undermining production in the economy because many workers can’t get to or perform their jobs. It has also changed buying patterns with consumers pulling back on discretionary spending, including travel and restaurants.