Jack Ma goes the Bezos way, turns media baron
Alibaba founder to buy South China Morning Post for $266 million; critics allege political motivation
HONG KONG: Chinese Internet giant Alibaba will pay $266 million (₹ 1,782 crore) for Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP), the newspaper said on Monday, far higher than analysts’ estimates in a deal that has sparked fears the paper will lose its independent voice.
The business had been valued at half that amount, and some observers said the hefty price tag reflects Alibaba’s desire to control media in the semiautonomous territory.
However, Ma is not the only Internet tycoon to venture into traditional print media, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought the respected Washington Post two years ago — for $250 million.
The deal comes as concern over press freedom grows after attacks on journalists, reports of pressure on editorial staff from authorities and increasing selfcensorship.
Alibaba “has agreed to purchase the media business of the (SCMP) Group for a cash consideration of HK$2,060,600,000”, the newspaper said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The group also owns the Hong Kong editions of magazines Esquire, Elle, Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar.
In a letter to the newspaper’s readers following the announcement of the sale, Alibaba executive vice chairman Joe Tsai vowed the SCMP would be “objective, accurate and fair”.
However, in an interview published on the paper’s website, Tsai accused Western media of bias against China, saying Alibaba would “see things differently”.
Francis Lun, chief executive of Hong Kong brokerage GEO Securities, expressed opinion that the inflated price given to the paper’s Malaysian owner, tycoon Robert Kuok — who bought a controlling stake in 1993 — reflected a political motivation.
“If your purpose is trying to control the local media, it has its value. The actual economic benefit is doubtful,” Lun said, echoing views that Ma’s close ties with Beijing will inevitably affect coverage and promote a China-centric view of the fiercely independent minded Hong Kong.
Analyst Jackson Wong agreed the sale was “very expensive” but said Ma had splashed out in order to capitalise on the SCMP brand and online presence.
“It would be extremely difficult for a new media company to establish the name,” said Wong from Simsen Financial Group. “Alibaba has not only made investments in e-commerce... they have been buying different kinds of companies. He said SCMP could help Ma “broaden his business reach in various aspects in Asia Pacific”.
The once globally renowned English-language SCMP has long retained an outsize influence for its coverage of the mainland and willingness to broach controversial topics such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing.
But readers’ trust has dipped over a more pro-beijing editorial policy, and its subscription was a modest 100,000-odd at the end of last year.
Now, some say, it could prosper from the Ma’s Midas touch. SCMP would sure be hoping so.