Alibaba Clarifies That It Won’t Open A Singapore Headquarters
SINGAPORE – Alibaba cleared things up that it won’t be relocating its headquarters to Singapore, after it had acquired a 50 percent stake in an office tower there for S$1.68 billion (US$1.2 billion) in 2020, reported Tech Node on Saturday (28 January, SGT).
Formerly known as AXA Tower, the office building is currently being redeveloped into a mixed-use commercial property with office space. Upon completion in 2028, the structure is expected to become Singapore’s tallest building at 305 metres.
The Chinese tech titan said news claiming that it will move its headquarters to Singapore is “incorrect and misinterpreted.”
“Alibaba was founded and developed in Hangzhou, and our global headquarters will always be in Hangzhou,” said a company representative.
The tech titan clarified that the office space at the redeveloped AXA Tower will only be utilised by its subsidiaries in Southeast Asia, such as e-commerce platform Lazada. Notably, AXA Tower is being redeveloped with the help of a consortium of developers led by Perennial Holdings. Other partners include Chip Eng Seng, HPRY Holdings, Piermont Holdings, and Sing-Haiyi Emerald.
Since 2013, Alibaba has been based in the Future Sci-tech City project in Yuhang district in Hangzhou. The tech titan’s Yuhang campus is anticipated to be fully completed by the end of this year, with the capacity to accommodate 60,000 staff.
