New York (CNN Business)Chinese consumers were hunting for bargains on Singles Day, the online shopping extravaganza that takes place every November 11 which was originally launched by e-commerce giant Alibaba.
But investors have been betting that Alibaba’s top rival JD.com might be an even bigger Singles Day winner. Shares of JD.com (JD) are up nearly 15% in the past three months, while Alibaba (BABA) has fallen almost 15% during the same time frame.Beijing has been cracking down on Alibaba as of late, along with other top techs such as WeChat owner Tencent (TCEHY) and search giant Baidu (BIDU). Regulators have gone after these companies over antitrust and data protection concerns.
China is tightening its grip on outspoken CEOs. That's bad news for entrepreneursJD.com has mostly avoided the glare of the Chinese government so far, and investors are betting that it will continue to stay out of trouble with regulators.
The company has also already released solid sales figures for Singles Day promotions that begin earlier this month.Read More
But it looks like most Chinese e-commerce companies are going to enjoy a solid Singles Day. Shares of JD.com were up nearly 6% in early trading in New York on Thursday. Alibaba was up more than 2% and the company said Thursday that Apple (AAPL) and beauty products L’Oreal (LRLCF) have posted strong sales so far. Pinduoduo (PDD), a smaller Chinese online retailer, was up about 5% too.
Source: edition.cnn.com
