Alibaba's value dips below upstart PDD's in landmark for China

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is set to lose its position as China's most valuable e-commerce firm to eight-year-old upstart PDD, a watershed moment for an internet industry that Jack Ma's iconic firm dominated for more than a decade.

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Alibaba slid as much as 1.4% in Hong Kong, putting its market value at about HK$1.46 trillion ($187 billion) and on track to close below US-listed PDD Holdings Inc.'s $188.3 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations. PDD, the company best known for hit US shopping app Temu and domestic bargains trailblazer Pinduoduo, closed nearly 2% higher in New York on Wednesday.

The once-inconceivable shift reflects the turmoil that engulfed Alibaba after Beijing in 2020 targeted the company and its once outspoken co-founder, kicking off a sweeping crackdown on the powerful tech sector. It also signals the rise of a generation of upstarts from PDD to ByteDance Ltd, which are disrupting the traditional arenas of social media and e-commerce.