Alibaba Contributes RMB3.4 Billion to Support the Global Fight against Covid-19

As a caring and responsible company, Alibaba has paid close attention to the needs of its ecosystem partners and broader society and mobilized its resources to fully participate in efforts to fight the pandemic at home and abroad. In that way, it has truly lived up to its mission of making it easy to do business anywhere.

Immediately following the Covid-19 outbreak in January, Alibaba provided emergency support to the city of Wuhan and later launched 20 supportive measures across six areas to assist the merchants on Alibaba’s platforms. The measures include waiving the operating fee for merchants, providing financial support and low- or zero-interest loans, opening up Alibaba’s digital service capabilities and offering flexible employment opportunities. The aim is to help small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) navigate the downturn due to the pandemic.

To support the resumption of work and production activities in China, Alibaba reactivated the Spring Thunder Initiative, which was first launched during the 2009 financial crisis. The initiative helps SMEs in China and abroad expand their customer reach and drive domestic sales, while at the same time, digitally transforming the traditional industrial clusters and revitalizing agriculture across China.

The Group has waived the platform service fee for all Tmall merchants for the first half of 2020, which amounts to RMB610 million. Taobao and Tmall have joined hands with the Group’s smart logistics arm Cainiao Network to offer supply chain and logistics subsidies totalling RMB360 million. MYBank has provided support to SMEs in China by shortening the payment period that involves more than RMB439 million.

Alibaba’s DAMO Academy has offered over 550 hospitals in China the AI-based CT Image Analytics Solution to help diagnose of Covid-19. Also, Alibaba Cloud has launched USD30 million worth of measures to support global SMEs. Over 600 SMEs have benefited from these measures so far.

Alibaba Group has donated over 73 million pieces of anti-pandemic materials, totaling RMB480 million, to Wuhan and regions affected by the crisis in China. Additional donations have been made to global organizations such as the WHO and a number of regions worldwide.

In every crisis, there is an opportunity. Daniel Zhang, Alibaba Group Chairman and Chief Executive Office said: “Amid global uncertainty, two things are certain – one is the all-encompassing trend towards digitization among Chinese consumers, and the other is that China will maintain its position as a global factory, but will move towards a high level of digitization. As the saying goes, 'Chance favors the prepared mind.’ SMEs should make appropriate plans during this period of market adjustment to ensure they are well placed to capture the opportunities when the market emerges from the crisis.”

Alibaba Group’s dedication to its customers was evident during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003, where it was able to maintain a consistent level of service to consumers, even as many of its employees had to work from home.

In 2020, Alibaba has grown from an e-commerce company into a digital economy that boasts a diverse ecosystem comprising of fundamental technologies, as well as electronic payments, local services and e-commerce, among others.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the Group has tapped the expertise of the entire Alibaba economy, drawing on its 20 years of business experience to provide customers and ecosystem partners with its strong e-commerce capabilities, innovative technology and deep customer and market insights. Empowered by this new digital infrastructure, customers and partners have been able to accelerate digitization in a challenging environment.

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