Alibaba passes WalMart with share price leap
SHARES in Chinese e-retail giant Alibaba climbed above $100 during trading yesterday after exec chairman Jack Ma said he was open to working with Apple on mobile payments.
The stock jump meant that the firm’s market capitalisation edged over the $248bn mark, while that of US retail giant WalMart fell to around $247.5bn according to intraday prices.
Ma, confirmed this week as China’s richest person with Forbes estimating his fortune at $19.5bn (£12bn), was preparing to visit Hollywood this week in search of media partners.
Alibaba affiliate Alipay is China’s largest payments service, while Apple just this month debuted its own version of a mobile wallet, Apple Pay, letting iPhone 6 users make payments at retailers with their smartphones.
Ma and Apple chief executive Tim Cook this week talked about potential partnerships the two companies could pursue.
“I hope we can do something together,” said Ma.
He also said Alibaba is having discussions about partnerships with film studios about content deals.
“We’re going to talk about getting married later this week,” said Cook. “I have the utmost respect for Jack. We love to partner with people who are wicked smart, that have flexible teams, that are product based and that push us.
“And we like to push them. Those partners we work the best with, and I think Jack has a company that is exactly like that.
“I love what he’s done. I think he’s a brilliant guy, I think he has brilliant people in the company. So if we can find some areas of common space, I love it.”