Alibaba’s First Sales Miss in Two Years Shows Crackdown Toll
- Daniel Zhang advocated opening up internet app ecosystems
- Jack Ma’s firm is seeking to look past its regulatory woes
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s revenue missed estimates for the first time in more than two years, underscoring how Beijing’s months-long campaign against the internet sector is taking a toll.
Growth slowed in most of Alibaba’s major divisions from cloud to e-commerce, underlining fears that the mounting list of new government regulations is constraining expansion and increasing companies’ burdens. In a sign of the times, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang on Tuesday endorsed a string of government policies enacted during a tumultuous 2021, from strict curbs on data collection to excessive subsidies. In particular, he voiced support for a six-month campaign kicked off last week by the internet industry overseer that expressly called out the blocking of rivals’ services.