Alibaba Group Holding has set up a new "digital technology" company under its main e-commerce unit, Taobao and Tmall Group (TTG), with a registered capital base of 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million), according to Chinese business registry platform Tianyancha.

Established on August 23, the new firm called "Hangzhou Taobao and Tmall Digital Technology Co" will be involved in a wide range of businesses, including: import and export of goods; sales of food, daily groceries, outdoor products and household appliances; and technology-related services such as software development and tech transfer.

While those may cover the typical scope of operations for an e-commerce company registered on the mainland, the new outfit appears to reflect how TTG could pursue further business expansion or sharpen its focus on certain activities.

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Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Taobao and Tmall are the primary Chinese online retail platforms of Alibaba Group Holding. Photo: Shutterstock alt=Taobao and Tmall are the primary Chinese online retail platforms of Alibaba Group Holding. Photo: Shutterstock>

The new company was formed just days before antitrust watchdog, the State Administration for Market Regulation, officially ended more than three years of regulatory scrutiny of Hangzhou-based Alibaba.

That comes at a time when Beijing is trying to boost confidence in the private sector, as the country's 5 per cent economic growth target for 2024 looks to be at risk amid a property market slump and weak consumer spending. Alibaba's financial health is often seen as a proxy of Chinese consumer spending and economic vitality.

TTG has also been locked in heated competition against main domestic rival JD.com as well as younger online retail platforms such as PDD Holdings' Pinduoduo and ByteDance-owned Douyin.

In July, Alibaba's TTG and Douyin sought to implement separate policies designed to adjust their focus from a low-cost-retail strategy that fanned a domestic price war, according to a Post report.

The Taobao and Tmall apps are displayed on a smartphone for China's "Double 12" retail festival, the mainland version of the post-Thanksgiving "Black Friday" shopping event in the United States. Photo: Shutterstock alt=The Taobao and Tmall apps are displayed on a smartphone for China's "Double 12" retail festival, the mainland version of the post-Thanksgiving "Black Friday" shopping event in the United States. Photo: Shutterstock>

From March, TTG started testing new generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for merchants on Taobao and Tmall via a website called Huiwa.

In January, TTG unveiled a number of new AI features designed to improve services, help merchants and attract new customers.

AI models would be employed to transform Dianxiaomi, a customer service chatbot, to enhance seller-consumer interaction, TTG said at the time. That includes tasks such as pre- and post-sales service, data analysis and other online sales activities.

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