Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) has decided not to spin off its cloud computing unit, Cloud Intelligence Group, due to US export restrictions on advanced computing chips.
Alibaba is also postponing its listing plan for its supermarket chain Freshippo, as it evaluates market conditions, the South China Morning Post reported.
The online marketplace operator, which is based in China and was co-founded by entrepreneur Jack Ma, reported 9% revenue growth for the financial quarter that ended on 30 September, representing slower sales growth than in the previous quarter.
Net income was lower than analysts’ expectations, at 27.7 billion yuan for the quarter.
Alibaba announced its first-ever annual dividends, which will total around US$2.5 billion.
Ma’s family trusts plan to sell US$870 million worth of Alibaba shares on November 21, filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission show.
Alibaba’s Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu Yongming, who took over from former chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang in September, unveiled a roadmap for the group and its key business units while speaking on a conference call.
His plans include transforming online shopping platform Taobao into a consumer app and building one of the most open cloud systems in what he described as the era of artificial intelligence.