E-commerce Morning Brief: Alibaba Plans HK$80 Billion New Share Placement for AI Development; SHEIN Launches IPO to Raise Up to Over HK$13.8 Billion

News 1: Alibaba plans to place HK$80 billion worth of new shares, with all proceeds allocated to AI development

Alibaba announced it plans to place new shares to non-U.S. persons outside the United States, with a total placement value of HK$80 billion. This marks the first new share placement launched by Alibaba since its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2019. 100% of the net proceeds from this placement will be used to invest in full-stack AI capabilities and strengthen AI infrastructure construction, to further consolidate Alibaba's global leading position in the AI field.

News 2: Tongcheng Travel acquires Dida Mobility

Tongcheng Travel issued an announcement stating that it has completed the tender offer for Dida Mobility. According to the announcement, Tongcheng Travel has received valid acceptances for 910,755,954 shares, accounting for approximately 88.74% of Dida Mobility's total issued share capital. After the acquisition is completed, Dida Mobility will maintain independent brand and operation. Tongcheng Travel stated that it plans to keep Dida Mobility's listing status on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange unchanged.

News 3: Keep reports H1 revenue of 825 million yuan, adjusted net profit of 5.88 million yuan

Keep released its 2026 semi-annual report: first-half revenue reached 825 million yuan, with an adjusted net profit of 5.88 million yuan. On the user side, ARPU increased by 21.3% year-on-year, and the average monthly exercise duration per MAU rose by 15.3% year-on-year. In terms of AI, Keepace.ai continues to be deployed in core scenarios of the app, while the company is also exploring capability output for the B-end. Revenue from own-brand fitness products increased by 21.7% year-on-year to 483 million yuan, with gross margin rising to 40.1%, and overseas revenue exceeded 22 million yuan.

News 4: Pop Mart's two major shareholders Wang Ning and Duan Yongping appear together again at Singapore art toy exhibition

A netizen posted on social media that on August 22, Pop Mart founder Wang Ning and well-known investor Duan Yongping visited the Singapore Art Toy Exhibition together. On July 20, at the final of the FIFA World Cup 2026 jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Wang Ning and Duan Yongping had a rare meeting and took a group photo. Duan Yongping also shared another photo of the two of them standing in front of a giant LABUBU painting on his social media platform.

Public information shows that Wang Ning and Duan Yongping are the largest and second largest shareholders of Pop Mart respectively. On May 25 this year, Duan Yongping purchased 9.8232 million Pop Mart ordinary shares through an investment advisory firm controlled by him. Together with his concerted parties, he holds a total stake of 5.69%, making him the second largest shareholder after Pop Mart founder Wang Ning, who holds approximately 44.85% of the shares. According to a disclosure by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited on August 12, Duan Yongping holds a 7.70% stake in Pop Mart's H shares.

News 5: Self-operated products account for more than half of East Buy's total GMV in FY2026

The FY2026 performance report released by East Buy shows that total revenue for the fiscal year increased by 36.3% year-on-year. In this fiscal year, East Buy's gross profit reached 2 billion yuan, up 45.2% year-on-year, with an operating profit of 660 million yuan. As of May 31, 2026, East Buy's total GMV reached 10.2 billion yuan, of which GMV generated by self-operated products was 5.4 billion yuan, accounting for approximately 52.6% of total GMV.

During the reporting period, East Buy launched a total of 1,009 self-operated products. Sun Jin, CEO of East Buy, said that research and development as well as new launches of self-operated products will continue to accelerate in the new fiscal year. This year, East Buy opened new live streaming studios in Hangzhou, including accounts for self-operated apparel, self-operated food, and self-operated personal care and beauty products. The Hangzhou base completed leasing and renovation two months ago.

News 6: Flash Express completed 63.1 million orders in Q2, up 9% quarter-on-quarter

Flash Express released its Q2 2026 performance report. Financial data shows that in the second quarter of 2026, Flash Express achieved revenue of 940 million yuan. Affected by intensified market competition, revenue has seen a moderate correction, but multiple core operating indicators of the platform remain stable. Gross profit in Q2 reached 95.5 million yuan, with an adjusted net profit of 11.4 million yuan, and the inherent value of its business model continues to be unlocked. Order volume maintained a stable scale, with 63.1 million orders completed in Q2, representing a 9% quarter-on-quarter increase.

News 7: SHEIN launches IPO to raise up to over HK$13.8 billion

SHEIN officially kicked off its global offering, planning to issue approximately 280 million Class B shares, with an offer price range of HK$47.6 to HK$49.5 per share and a board lot size of 100 shares. It is expected to be listed on September 1. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan are acting as joint sponsors, with cornerstone investors including Boyu, Tiger Global, Tencent, Greenwoods Asset Management and Taikang Life Insurance, among others.

Calculated based on the maximum offer price of HK$49.5 per share, the offering will raise up to HK$13.86 billion. Calculated based on the median offer price of HK$48.55 per share, the net proceeds from the global offering will be approximately HK$13.123 billion, of which approximately 40% is expected to be used to enhance the company's technological capabilities, approximately 40% to increase brand awareness and strengthen global layout, approximately 10% to the company's corporate responsibility initiatives, and the remaining funds for general corporate purposes.

News 8: TikTok Shop Europe cross-border POP launches "Pilot Program", investing over 1 billion worth of resources as incentives

TikTok Shop Europe's cross-border POP business officially launched the "Pilot Program", announcing an investment of over 1 billion worth of resources in incentives to help Chinese merchants enter the UK and European markets with lower thresholds and higher efficiency.

It is reported that the over 1 billion resource investment covers the needs of merchants at all stages. The platform's commission rate usually ranges from 9% to 15%. During the cold start phase, new merchants will receive a 7% direct commission reduction during the incentive period (ranging from 60 to 90 days after entering the platform). During the growth phase, the platform launches monthly merchant incubation resource packages, including advertising credit support and product coupon incentives, etc. Merchants participating in the resource packages are eligible for 30 days of platform support. There is also full-cycle commission rebate support (up to 3.3 million yuan in commission rebates per merchant per quarter).

In addition, there are various support measures including limited-time commission reduction for direct mail apparel categories in Europe, new product launch incentives, merchant content incentives, KOL resource matching, and sample sending incentives. The platform also provides 1-on-1 exclusive operation guidance.

News 9: AliExpress to launch "Intelligent Operation Agent for High-Potential Countries and Regions" on September 1, which can manage operations in over 200 national markets

AliExpress, the cross-border e-commerce platform under Alibaba, will launch the "Intelligent Operation Agent for High-Potential Countries and Regions". Merchants can enable the function with one click, and the AI will take over operations in more than 200 high-potential countries and regions, bringing merchants incremental growth outside core markets.

It is reported that the function will be gradually rolled out to all merchants on September 1. Merchants can complete the sign-up with one click by clicking the "Intelligent Operation" menu bar on the left side of the AliExpress merchant backend, or by clicking the corresponding button in the homepage pop-up window.

That's all for today's morning brief. For more e-commerce insights, please stay tuned to Ebrun Audio News.

This article was first published on the official website of Ebrun.