Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is accelerating efforts to unlock value from its assets and AI capabilities, with analysts and executives pointing to capital recycling, monetization and innovation as key drivers.
• Alibaba shares are under pressure. Why are BABA shares declining?
REIT Spin-off To Recycle Capital
Alibaba said it received approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to spin off a logistics asset Jiaxing Park into a REIT for listing in Shenzhen.
Morningstar senior equity analyst Chelsey Tam told SCMP on Tuesday that "the proposed spin-off reflects a strategic effort by Alibaba to recycle capital and redeploy it into higher-growth opportunities," adding the move could unlock value from a mature asset while preserving flexibility.
Logistics expert Zhao Xiaomin, CEO of Guanshuo Capital, told SCMP that Cainiao (the logistics arm of Alibaba) has relied on Alibaba since its scrapped IPO, and said securitizing assets could improve cash flow and ease pressure on the parent's balance sheet.
Dolphin chief analyst Li Chengdong told SCMP that the move marks an initial step to reuse existing assets to fund expansion, especially as Alibaba invests heavily in AI infrastructure.
AI Expansion Drives New Growth Avenues
Alibaba is also building new revenue streams through AI.
Its DAMO Academy introduced DAMO COCA, an AI model for colorectal cancer screening that achieved 86.6% sensitivity and 99.8% specificity in clinical validation, as part of a broader multi-cancer screening push, Pandaily reported on Tuesday.
The company also launched beta testing for HappyHorse 1.0, a video generation model supporting text-to-video and multilingual output, with pricing starting at about 12 cents per second, Pandaily reported on Tuesday.
The rollout reflects Alibaba's push to commercialize generative AI tools across enterprise and consumer use cases.
Industry Trends and Strategic Positioning
Analysts say Alibaba's moves align with a broader industry trend of monetizing infrastructure-heavy assets.
Tam noted similar REIT listings by logistics players such as SF Express and JD.com, Inc (NASDAQ:JD) highlight how Chinese tech firms are unlocking value from real estate holdings.
At the same time, Li emphasized that capital recycling is critical, as Alibaba competes in a costly AI race that requires investment in data centers, chips and models.
The company's parallel push into AI-enabled services — including integrating its Qwen model into vehicles — underscores its strategy to combine asset monetization with long-term, technology-driven growth.
BABA Price Action: Alibaba shares were down 1.65% at $130.33 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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