Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba posted a decline in quarterly revenue for the first time in its history, but above expectations, against a backdrop of economic slowdown and tighter regulation, it was reported yesterday.

"After the relatively weak months of April and May, we see signs of recovery in our activities in June," said group CEO Daniel Zhang, quoted in a statement, that month being when there was an easing of anti-pandemic restrictions in China.

In the same period last year, sales rose 34% year-on-year to 205,740 million yuan (29,873 million euros).

Profit in the fiscal first quarter ended June reached 22,739 million yuan (3,306 million euros), down 50% from a year earlier.

During the quarter under review, several outbreaks of covid-19 caused restrictions on movement and economic activity in different parts of China and led to a strict lockdown for weeks in Shanghai, one of the country's main economic hubs.

Since late 2020, the authorities have been uncompromising against certain previously widely tolerated practices of the digital giants in terms of personal data collection and competition.

Beijing thus multiplied the actions against powerful internet companies, barred from raising money internationally or fined for abuse of dominant position. These measures have caused the industry to lose billions of dollars in market capitalization.

Long considered a model of success in China, Alibaba was the first to suffer punishment from the public authorities.

Alibaba plans to have the Hong Kong stock exchange as its first listing venue, aiming to "further expand and diversify the company's investor base." (News to the Minute)