China’s internet colossus Alibaba to announce earnings

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group reports its first quarter earnings today. 2017 has been kind to the company: its share price has almost doubled since January with investors now valuing it at $390 billion.

Alibaba’s earnings often defy predictions—underperforming by 17% last quarter while currently exceeding average e-commerce growth by nearly a third.

However, Chinese cybersecurity regulations are partially obstructing business. An investigation into the Weibo messaging platform (whose parent firm is one-thirds owned by Alibaba) accuses them of mismanaging content that “[endangers] national security, public safety and social order.” This comes after $1.3 billion of stock value was lost last month after Weibo was forced to shut down its video site.

However, Alibaba’s ventures extend beyond messaging to include cloud computing and online shopping, minimising overall earnings losses. With more Chinese than ever online and a growing consumerist middle class, Alibaba’s foundation is growing stronger, and expansion into the rest of Asia seems only a matter of time.