Category: 3. Business

Alibaba Group Holding on Friday unveiled a 2 billion yuan (US$281 million) investment as part of a programme that will see a network of Taobao-branded convenience stores across China support the operations of the firm’s instant commerce and on-demand delivery business.

Rather than establishing Taobao Shangou’s own bricks-and-mortar shops, the programme would primarily provide existing convenience stores with a tech facelift, leveraging Alibaba’s digital infrastructure, according to Hu Qiugen, the instant commerce unit’s general manager. Alibaba owns the Post.

Under the programme, the operators of partner convenience stores would receive digital supply chain support from Alibaba’s domestic wholesale platform 1688.com, technical insights on product procurement and get their stock inventory replenished via the group’s Aoxiang platform, as well as Taobao branding.

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That technical support is expected to make certain each store provides “one-stop, 24-hour and 30-minute delivery” shopping service to consumers, according to Hu. Taobao Shangou’s partner convenience stores are expected to be rolled out in more than 200 cities on the mainland.

The first batch of Taobao partner convenience stores launched on Saturday in cities that include Hangzhou, the capital of eastern Zhejiang province, and Nanjing, the capital of eastern Jiangsu province.

“We are committed to ensuring a win-win within our ecosystem,” Hu said.

Taobao Shangou general manager Hu Qiugen speaks at Friday’s launch of the Alibaba unit’s new convenience store programme in Hangzhou. Photo: Sina alt=Taobao Shangou general manager Hu Qiugen speaks at Friday’s launch of the Alibaba unit’s new convenience store programme in Hangzhou. Photo: Sina>

Hangzhou-based Alibaba’s latest initiative further expands the scope of goods and merchants covered by its instant commerce push, more than two months after CEO Eddie Wu Yongming said the company had succeeded in scaling up user growth and making consumers prefer its platform over its rivals – including on-demand delivery giant Meituan and JD.com.

Taobao Shangou, which is accessible from the Taobao shopping app, currently has more than one-third of the traditional convenience stores in its ecosystem running round-the-clock operations.

Alibaba said monthly active users of Taobao Shangou reached 300 million in August, while daily orders hit a peak of 120 million.

China’s instant commerce market is expected to grow to 2 trillion yuan, according to estimates by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, an institute under China’s Ministry of Commerce.

Meituan, meanwhile, has also been expanding the footprint of its instant commerce operation.

Beijing-based Meituan, which claimed that its instant commerce service has more than 500 million users, on Wednesday announced a partnership with over 10,000 brands. The company said it will help these brands establish virtual stores on its platform, while also providing them with digital tools, warehousing and logistics support.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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BEIJING, Nov 2 (Reuters) – China Vanke, a state-backed property developer battling liquidity stress, said on Sunday its largest shareholder, Shenzhen Metro Group, agreed to provide loans of up to 22 billion yuan ($3.09 billion), a stock exchange filing showed.

One of China’s best-known household names, with many projects across bigger cities, Vanke is about a third owned by Shenzhen Metro.

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WARSAW, Poland — Poles met up with families and visited their beloved dead on All Saints’ Day, which was celebrated Saturday across the Catholic world.

All Saints’ Day, annually celebrated Nov. 1, is one of the most important days in the Polish calendar. Supermarket shelves are stacked with candles weeks in advance. As the day approaches, street vendors compete for spots near cemetery entrances, selling chrysanthemums and traditional snacks like pretzels, called “obwazanki” in Polish.

In cities across the country, special bus lines were introduced, with their final stops at the largest cemeteries. Inhabitants of big cities headed to the suburbs or villages where parents or grandparents live, so they can visit the graves of deceased family members together. Police officers set up special patrols, jokingly called “Operation Candle,” to keep the peace on the roads during the holiday.

Poland seemingly came to a standstill Saturday as people made their way to cemeteries to collectively honor those who have died. As the day turned to dusk, graves adorned with white and red candles and colorful flowers — set against the backdrop of orange autumn leaves — radiated warmth and comfort despite the somber occasion.

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• In recent days, JD Logistics announced that its board will review unaudited third-quarter results on November 13, 2025, while its supply chain arm JoyLogistics has rolled out integrated bulky item delivery and installation services in Malaysia and Singapore.

• This move marks a push into Southeast Asian markets with enhanced logistics offerings, but recent losses at subsidiary Deppon underscore ongoing sector challenges.

• We’ll explore how Southeast Asia network expansion and subsidiary performance updates may influence JD Logistics’ investment narrative going forward.

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Shareholders in JD Logistics are betting on the company’s expansion into high-margin, integrated supply chain solutions, including growth in Southeast Asia and a push for greater revenue diversification beyond JD.com. The latest news of board review for unaudited results and new services in Malaysia and Singapore extend JD Logistics’ international footprint, but these developments do not materially change the most important short-term catalyst, sustained growth in external third-party business. Key risks, including persistent client concentration and rising cost pressures, continue to warrant attention.

The recent launch of integrated bulky item delivery and installation by JoyLogistics in Southeast Asia is directly tied to JD Logistics’ core catalyst: building out specialized value-added services to win new external clients and reduce dependence on JD.com. This expansion strengthens its service mix and network, supporting diversification efforts, but execution risks tied to overseas ventures and capital allocation still linger for investors tracking performance drivers.

However, while top-line growth from new markets is encouraging, investors should also be aware that ongoing labor cost inflation and rising employee benefits could constrain net margins if…

Read the full narrative on JD Logistics (it’s free!)

JD Logistics’ outlook anticipates CN¥262.7 billion in revenue and CN¥9.5 billion in earnings by 2028. This projection is based on an annual revenue growth rate of 10.4% and an earnings increase of CN¥3.0 billion from the current CN¥6.5 billion.

Uncover how JD Logistics’ forecasts yield a HK$17.65 fair value, a 39% upside to its current price.

Simply Wall St Community members set JD Logistics’ fair value between HK$13.31 and HK$40.51, across four distinct analyses. As you weigh these perspectives, remember that execution challenges in international expansion could significantly influence future returns and risk exposure.

Explore 4 other fair value estimates on JD Logistics – why the stock might be worth over 3x more than the current price!

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• A great starting point for your JD Logistics research is our analysis highlighting 5 key rewards that could impact your investment decision.

• Our free JD Logistics research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual – the Snowflake – making it easy to evaluate JD Logistics’ overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include 2618.HK.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com

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Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in Oakley Capital Investments Limited (LON:OCI) over the past 12 months. An insider’s optimism about the company’s prospects is a positive sign.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

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In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Co-Founder Peter Adam Dubens bought UK£579k worth of shares at a price of UK£5.06 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK£5.60. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it’s less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. In this case we’re pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.

Oakley Capital Investments insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn’t sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

See our latest analysis for Oakley Capital Investments

Oakley Capital Investments is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Over the last quarter, Oakley Capital Investments insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought UK£77k worth of shares. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it’s a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It’s great to see that Oakley Capital Investments insiders own 13% of the company, worth about UK£124m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

It is good to see recent purchasing. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Oakley Capital Investments. That’s what I like to see! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it’s beneficial to identify the risks facing Oakley Capital Investments. To assist with this, we’ve discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Oakley Capital Investments.

If you would prefer to check out another company — one with potentially superior financials — then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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