Chinese government has asked Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd to dispose of its media assets, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move comes as officials are becoming concerned about the tech giant’s influence over public opinion in the country.
Discussions over Alibaba’s media assets have been ongoing since the beginning of the year after the Chinese regulators reviewed a list of media assets owned by the tech giant.
Alibaba has over the years assembled a formidable portfolio of media outlets that span print, broadcast, digital, social media, and advertising,
Notable holdings of Alibaba include stakes in the Twitter-like Weibo platform and several popular Chinese digital and print news outlets, including South China Morning Post.
Several of Alibaba’s holdings are in U.S-listed firms.
Chinese officials see Alibaba’s influence as posing a serious challenge to the Communist Party and its own powerful propaganda apparatus.
Alibaba stock is currently declining. 9988: HKG is down 2.04%
