Alibaba founder heads to Central Asia

Jack Ma Yun, the co-founder of Alibaba (9988), was said to have landed in Uzbekistan after visiting South Asia.

The Chinese e-commerce giant does not have any investments in Central Asia, a region which China wants to form closer ties with.

Ma's visit to Uzbekistan was unveiled by Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, the former secretary of defense of Pakistan and the founder of Nutshell, an e-commerce platform backed by Alibaba. He tweeted a photo of Ma and disclosed the details of Ma's trips on social media.

Before heading to the country in Central Asia, Ma visited Nepal and Pakistan, which Nutshell's business covers, as well as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

After Ma ended his overseas stay and returned to mainland China in March, the Chinese magnate has witnessed the historic six-way restructuring of Alibaba, which could help reduce the regulatory crackdown risk it suffered during the past three years.

Now, Ma has just completed a personal visit to Pakistan, China's first "all-weather strategic cooperative partner."

The trip to Uzbekistan also echoes Beijing's moves to build closer relations with Middle Asia, amid India's rise and the geopolitical tensions with the United States. In May, a China-Central Asia Summit with President Xi Jinping's participation was held in Xi'an.

Meanwhile, Alibaba's international commerce business posted an operating loss of 8.43 billion yuan (HK$9.09 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 2023, despite double-digit income growth, according to the company.