The Chinese government has asked Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. get rid of their media assets, as officials become more concerned about the tech giant ‘s view of public opinion in the country, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussions on the case have been held since early this year, after Chinese regulators reviewed a list of media assets owned by Hangzhou-headquartered company, which has a core online sales business. Officials feared how widespread Alibaba’s media interests have grown and called on the company to come up with a plan to severely curb its media, the people said.
Alibaba, founder of billionaire Jack Ma, has over the years amassed an incredible portfolio of media assets spanning print, broadcast, digital, social media and advertising. Notable sections include stakes in the Twitter-like Weibo platform and several Chinese digital and print news outlets, as well as the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s leading English-language newspaper. Several of these holdings are in U.S. registered companies.
Such an impact is seen as a major challenge for the Communist Party of China and its own powerful propaganda mechanism, the people said.
The party’s propaganda department did not respond to a fax request seeking comment.