Amazon reclaims e-commerce crown from Alibaba

A slowdown in the Chinese economy and surprising second quarter results from Amazon means that Alibaba is no longer the most valuable e-commerce market place.

Bloomberg reports that the American marketplace has overtaken the Chinese retailer, after quarterly reports revealed the values of both firms.

Now valued at $240bn, Amazon surprised a number of financial analysts in the second quarter, with a growth in sales put down to its cloud-computing business and solid investment strategy.

Alibaba on the other hand, has seen its shares slump significantly in recent weeks. After securing a record $25bn during its IPO last September, the e-commerce platform has seen its market capitalization share fall almost 30 per cent, with the value of the company now standing at $180bn.

With China’s economy being significantly weakened in recent weeks, coupled with the China International Payment System’s (CIPS) decision to scale back its international payment system, Alibaba has been affected significantly by this double blow.

‘‘You can’t overlook the China slowdown,’’ said RJ Hottovy, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Chicago. ‘‘Chinese consumer spending trends are in a slowdown.’’

Developments in China have forced a number of Alibaba’s investors to reduce their shares in the e-commerce firm. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wellington Management Group and TIAA-CREF Investment Management have on average decreased their shares in Alibaba by 42 per cent.

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