“It will be done on Sunday (tomorrow) with help from the Royal Malaysian Air Force in Subang Jaya when we have cloud formations,” he said.

Johan Setia recorded unhealthy API readings of 243 at 6.30pm while in Klang town, a view from the rooftop of MPK showed a thicker layer of smog.

Klang Fire and Rescue Department headquarters zone chief Samsol Maarif Saibani said five firemen patrolled Johan Setia to check on burning activities.

“From Wednesday to Friday, all small farmers cooperated with the authorities to refrain from burning vegetation,” he said, adding that the smog was a transboundary issue.

Samsol also said the Fire and Rescue Department was on alert while the Klang District Disaster Management Committee has been activated to coordinate monitoring activities on the ground with other authorities, including MPK.

According to the directive, all burning activities are barred, including work at construction sites that could contribute to more airborne dust particles.

The Selangor government advised people to reduce outdoor activities and follow the development of air quality via the Department of Environment’s (DOE) website or the Mobile Air Pollutant Index (MyIPU) app that is available for download.

The public can also channel information on open burning by contacting DOE at 1-800-88-2727, DOE headquarters at 03-8871 2000or Selangor DOE Control Room at 03-5519 7233.

API readings as stated in the DOE website at 5.15pm are as follows: Klang (139), Shah Alam (143), Banting (148), Petaling Jaya (153) and Kuala Selangor (110).

The Selangor Education Department, in an earlier statement, said schools in an area with API readings of above 200 would be closed immediately until the situation improved.

On Thursday, state deputy education director Muhamad Radzi Abdullah said the closure of 29 schools in Klang and Kuala Langat was due to the current API readings.

“If the API reading drops to below 200, the school will be reopened. The school administration must keep abreast of the API readings and act accordingly based on the circular,” he said.

According to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pyongyang fired the projectiles from Kaechon, South Pyongan Province, at 6:53 a.m. and 7:12 a.m., with one of the projectiles flying 330 kilometers east.

The JCS did not provide further details such as the altitude and speed of the projectiles launched, saying it is analyzing the information with the US intelligence authorities. However, both projectiles are believed to have flown at an altitude of about 50 to 60 kilometers, and the other projectile is said to have flown a shorter distance.

While further analysis will be needed to confirm the exact types of the projectiles, Pyongyang may have fired projectiles it had already tested, such as the “super-large multiple rocket launch system,” or the North Korean version of the US Army’s Army Tactical Missile System, which is larger.

“The projectiles fired today may be the super-large multiple rocket launch system, and North Korea’s own version of so-called ‘US ATACMS,’ as North Korea has not previously launched them to fly across the peninsula, and that the flight range of the two weapons systems is around 400 kilometers,” according to Kim Dong-yub, a professor at Kyungnam University’s North Korean Studies School.

North Korea has been seen launching the same weapons system toward the East Sea a number of times to test stability, first from the eastern region close to the East Sea and then from a location in the west for the projectiles to fly across the country.

On Aug. 24, Pyongyang fired two projectiles into the East Sea from the eastern town of Sondok, South Hamgyong Province. The projectiles flew around 380 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 97 km, and at the top speed of around Mach 6.5, according to Seoul’s JCS.

On Aug. 10 and Aug. 16, North Korea also fired projectiles that Seoul’s military said were short-range ballistic missiles similar to the US ATACMS. They were launched from eastern areas and flew between 230 km and 400 km.

In previous launches, North Korea fired new kinds of short-range weapons, including a modified version of Russia’s Iskander ballistic missiles and “a new large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket system” believed to measure 400 millimeters, tested Aug. 2, which is different from the “super-large” multiple launcher tested Aug. 24.

Nineteen of 20 sovereign ratings in the region have “stable” or “positive” outlooks, reflecting the cushion provided by strong fiscal and external buffers, as well as shock-absorbers, from flexible policy frameworks in these economies, Fitch said on Tuesday.

Hong Kong’s ‘AA’ rating is still quite high…if the unrest could be resolved and business sentiment recovers, it’ll be helpful for future ratings

It said the only “negative” outlook for the region is Hong Kong’s “AA” rating downgraded from “AA+”, explaining that the city’s persistent unrest has damaged international perceptions of governance, and called into question the stability and dynamism of the SAR’s business environment.

Andrew Fennell, lead sovereign analyst for China at Fitch Ratings, said records show that an economy that has been downgraded is likely to see its rating lowered again in eight to nine months.

But, he stressed that Hong Kong’s “AA” rating is still quite high, expressing confidence in the city’s linked exchange rate system and stable public finance management.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s fiscal reserves account for 40 percent of its gross domestic product, reflecting the city’s strong economic buffers.

Fennell said if the unrest could be resolved and business sentiment recovers, it’ll be helpful for future ratings.

Fitch said Hong Kong’s downgrade highlights the relevance of geopolitical risks for some Asia-Pacific sovereigns.

The agency has rated the Chinese mainland’s economy “A+” with a stable outlook, while Australia and Singapore are both rated “AAA” — the highest.

It believes the escalating trade tensions between China and the United States have darkened the global economic outlook. Fitch said the Chinese mainland’s economic growth is expected to fall to 6.1 percent this year and 5.7 percent in 2020 — down from previous forecasts of 6.2 percent and 6 percent, respectively, due to the latest round of tariffs.

It also condemned the illegal behavior of radical protesters over the weekend in a release, saying their acts of vandalism must stop immediately.

Since the return to the motherland, the Hong Kong SAR has been exercising ‘Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong’ and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law

HKSAR government statement

“Since the return to the motherland, the Hong Kong SAR has been exercising ‘Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong’ and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law,” the statement said.

The “one country, two systems” principle has been fully and successfully implemented.

Human rights and freedom in Hong Kong are fully protected by the Basic Law, the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and other legislation, the statement said. “The HKSAR government attaches great importance to them and is determined to safeguard them.”

During Sunday’s protest, several subway stations, including the Central and Wan Chai stations on Hong Kong Island, were severely vandalized. Some radicals started fires near several station entrances, smashed windows and shattered the screens of ticket machines.

Police said it arrested 157 people over the weekend.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the management of subway operator MTR Corp said such vandalism is intolerable. Such acts have seriously affected the lives of local residents and tourists and have severely tarnished Hong Kong’s image, they agreed.

Lam spoke in a meeting after visiting the area around Central Station. She and the MTR managers vowed to maintain their resolve against such violence and will work together to minimize its negative impact.

The SAR Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan also appealed to the public to respect the responsibilities of MTR’s staff as well as the public’s right to travel.

The MTR is the most important part of Hong Kong’s transportation system, handling an average of 5 million passenger trips a day.

All exits of Central Station were open on Monday, thanks to overnight repairs by MTR staff and a cleaning crew that started work early in morning.

A cleaner who wanted to remain anonymous said she arrived at 7 am to erase the graffiti sprayed on outer walls of subway stations, phone booths and advertising boards.

She said the facilities “have nothing to do with the protests and should not be damaged”.

On Sunday, most shops and restaurants in the area closed right after Central Station announced suspension of services at 4 pm.

Nass, 28, a shop manager in Central, said Sunday was the first time his establishment had closed earlier than usual in recent months. “But if it (the violence and vandalism) continues, or occurs even once a month, our company may have to lay off some staff,” said Nass, adding that the retail heartland of Hong Kong continued to see fewer visitors since the protests began three months ago.

A 76-year-old resident who gave his name as Yadav said he had to walk to work at 8:30 pm on Sunday because buses and the subway were out of service.

“I don’t know when this will stop. But what protesters did was very bad. People living here are having a very difficult time,” Yadav said.

Gu Xiaohong, deputy director of the administration’s general affairs department, said Monday at a press conference that overseas carriers, in line with their strategic planning and market demands, are free to move their services to the newly built airport, with the option of having a presence in both Daxing Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport.

So far, British Airways has announced it will move all its operations from the current Beijing Capital Airport to the new airport, and Ethiopian Airlines, Polish Airlines, Finnair, Malaysia Airlines and Royal Air Maroc haven’t made a decision on Daxing Airport alone or both, he said.

Starting from the winter and spring season, a total of 16 domestic airlines and eight overseas carriers including China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines and Himalaya Airlines, plan to operate out of Beijing Daxing International Airport, and the airport will then serve a network of 116 routes and 112 domestic and foreign destinations, according to the administration.

The importance of supporting the development of private businesses was highlighted at a key Party meeting presided over by President Xi Jinping on Monday.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the 10th meeting of the Central Committee for Deepening Overall Reform and delivered an important speech.

He required more coordinated efforts to improve the efficiency of reform measures, consolidate the reform outcomes achieved in previous years and promote the improvement of policies in all areas.

During the meeting, leading officials reviewed and adopted a number of documents, guidelines and work plans on such issues as building a better business development environment, supporting the development of private enterprises and promoting the high-quality development of trade.

Both State-owned and private businesses should be guaranteed equal access to production materials, equal and open opportunities to engage in market competition and equal protection under the law, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Promoting the deep integration of advanced manufacturing and a modern services sector is an important way to increase the competitiveness of industry, cultivate a modern manufacturing system and achieve high-quality growth, it said.

More efforts should be made to promote the high-quality development of trade, the statement said. It pointed out that authorities should focus on building the Belt and Road, improving the trade structure and promoting coordinated development of imports and exports, cargo and service trade and other forms of commercial activity.

More measures should be taken to overcome obstacles that hinder the flow of workers and talent, said the statement. It required efforts to create opportunities and facilitate the flow of personnel to ensure everyone has opportunities for development based on hard work.

The importance of national food security was stressed at the meeting, and more efforts were called for to increase food supply, streamline its structure and improve quality, it said.

During the meeting, leading officials also discussed such issues as enhancing supervision of the financial system, increasing the capability of governance, restricting the production and use of plastics and easing burdens on teachers and students in primary and middle schools.

Malaysia is looking to diversify into food crops, in the face of fluctuating commodity prices and Western countries’ hostility towards palm oil.

In an interview with The Straits Times, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Salahuddin Ayub said there are plans to plant more food crops on agricultural land, including in oil palm plantations.

The move would help raise farmers’ income amid weak palm oil prices and criticism from the West that the industry contributes to widespread deforestation.

“We are not going to cut down all the trees,” Datuk Seri Salahuddin said of the new plan.

He explained that food crops would be planted in between existing crops and also on land with old palm trees, replacing the once-prized commodity.

The diversification plan has been agreed with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which oversees national land development agency Felda. The agency has helped farmers cultivate cash crops since 1956.

The agriculture sector contributed 8 per cent, or RM96 billion (S$32 billion), to Malaysia’s gross domestic product in 2017. Almost half of this came from palm oil.

About 5 million of the country’s 7 million ha of agricultural land are used to cultivate oil palm, against the 1 million ha for food crops, of which more than half is taken up by rice fields.

Rubber trees take up close to another million ha of land.

Diversification into food crops and poultry farming is part of the government’s plan to help Felda settlers raise their income, by lowering their dependency on palm oil and rubber.

Amount that the agriculture sector contributed to Malaysia’s gross domestic product in 2017, or 8 per cent. Almost half of this came from palm oil.

About this amount of the country’s 7 million ha of agricultural land is being used to cultivate oil palm, against the 1 million ha for food crops.

Crude palm oil prices have more than halved in the last eight years, falling from US$1,290 per tonne in February 2011 to US$521 per tonne last month.

Meanwhile, prices of tropical fruit and vegetables are rising.

“For example, papaya, jackfruit, vegetables like chillies, tumeric, ginger. Their prices are all good, very high now,” said Mr Salahuddin.

Over 25,000 tonnes of papaya were exported in 2017 at a value of US$9.2 million (S$12.7 million).

The eksotika papaya variety has seen its retail price double from RM2.80 per kg in 2012 to RM5.63 per kg in 2017. Prices of green chillies have risen from RM7.50 per kg in 2012 to RM11.65 per kg in 2017.

Another growth sector is durian, the export value of which has risen from US$11 million in 2013 for 20,000 tonnes to US$29 million last year for 23,000 tonnes.

The agriculture ministry is also encouraging paddy farmers to plant other more lucrative rice variants. Malaysia does not produce enough rice for domestic consumption and is a net importer of the grain.

“I’m recommending that some of the paddy fields be planted with fragrant rice. The price it fetches is higher,” said Mr Salahuddin.

Malaysia’s biggest supermarket chain Mydin removed all anti-palm products to convey the importance of palm oil to the Malaysian economy on Sept 4, 2019.

To get farmers to plant different rice variants, the government needs to provide a smooth production network, such as having centrally located rice processing factories, said Mr Salahuddin.

Fragrant rice, for example, now has to be sent to Kedah state to be processed, discouraging farmers in other states from planting it, despite its higher market price.

Other issues that need to be addressed include raising crop yields and dealing with ageing farmers and limited agricultural land.

Mr Salahuddin said the government is embracing better technology that raises yield on smaller plots, consolidating land owned by elderly farmers and leasing it to younger farmers who will get incentives such as subsidies and training.

“We are also focused on identifying abandoned land, which will be used to plant cash crops,” he said.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will group the 10 Asean nations with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand to create a free trade pact covering a third of the world’s economy.

Meeting over the weekend in Bangkok to resolve the bottlenecks hobbling the deal, already six years in the making, trade ministers said they hoped to seal it next year.

Mr Balakrishnan called the deal a “game changer” that had the potential to secure the prosperity of its members in the face of a pushback against trade and globalisation.

“For India, China and South-east Asia, the key political question is, can we arrive at a formula that would expand a rising middle class and give their children a sense of optimism,” he said, while trading views with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the inaugural session of the India-Singapore Business & Innovation Summit.

Pressed by the panel moderator, Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh, to clarify whether India would join the other nations in crossing the finishing line this year, Mr Jaishankar outlined New Delhi’s reservations about RCEP. India fears that the deal, which would call for a lowering of tariffs, would lead to a flood of goods from China while not assuring India of equal access to the Chinese markets, thereby widening its large trade deficit.

“The big concerns of India are that we run an enormous trade deficit with China, which we believe is a result of unfair, restricted market access… it’s the Chinese protectionist policies that have created this outcome,” he said.

He also raised concerns that India’s forte, its trade in services, was less well enforced through regulations than the trade in goods.

The deal had the geo-strategic objective of holding the line against protectionist and unilateral policies, he agreed. Even so, it had to make economic sense, he said.

“RCEP, at the end of the day, is an economic negotiation. It has a strategic implication but the merits… have to be economic.

“You can’t sign a trade agreement for its foreign policy benefits. It has to be sold for its trade benefits.

“If that was more self-evident to India, it would get clearly a much stronger resonance.”

Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said India remained sceptical over “unfair” market access and “Chinese protectionist policies” that have created a significant trade deficit between the two nations.

Mr Balakrishnan said Singapore, the largest foreign investor in both India and China, hoped the two Asian giants would eventually tide over their differences. But, in the meantime, RCEP presented an “enormous opportunity”.

“In the next decade or two, China and India are going to be in significant trading relationship. This is something they will have to sort out. In due course, bilateral arrangements will be made,” he said.

“But even as this rapprochement occurs, what we are trying to offer with RCEP is a multilateral model, a pan-regional model, the centre of gravity in the Indo-Pacific. And if we can sort out the fair rules which will promote trade and economic integration between India, China and South-east Asia, there is enormous opportunity.”

He added: “I say all this without trying to trivialise or gloss over the difficulties in negotiations.

“It is worth making an effort because this will be a game changer… the mother of all trade agreements.”

India can approach the deal from a position of strength, he said, noting that the Narendra Modi government, which has set the goal of doubling India’s gross domestic product to US$5 trillion (S$6.9 trillion) by 2024, was re-elected with a large majority in May.

“I remain optimistic that because of the nature of the Indian economy and the transformation which Mr Modi is implementing, India can deal with this from a position of confidence,” he said.

“Let’s make the effort.”

The two-day summit at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre coincides with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing 100 days in office after his re-election in May. In its third edition this year, it features an exhibition involving more than 80 start-ups, including 65 from India and 20 from Singapore. It aims to highlight opportunities for investors in areas such as the financial sector, infrastructure, urban development, real estate, agro-tech, food processing and skills development.

Mr Jaishankar yesterday co-chaired a joint ministerial committee meeting to discuss bilateral issues with Mr Balakrishnan. He also called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and  Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

AMARAVATI: SICK, VERY SICK OR DEAD?

The panel also discussed the viability of the stalled capital city project of Amaravati, which was being developed in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with Singapore’s help.

Work on the project has come to a standstill after the state elected a new chief minister, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy, in May.

When asked by Professor Koh whether the project was “sick, very sick or dead”, Mr Jaishankar deflected the question, calling it a decision for the state rather than the federal government.

Speaking to The Straits Times on the sidelines of the summit, the state’s Finance Minister, Mr Buggana Rajendranath, said the project was not as big a deal as it was made out to be. It also did not figure high in the priorities of the agrarian state, which was struggling to build an industrial base and generate revenue.

“We don’t have the money to build a city,” Mr Rajendranath said.

Building works in Amaravati, India. The Andhra Pradesh government had sought Singapore’s help in 2014 to develop the city as the state’s new capital. The project was disrupted after the chief minister lost power in an election in May.

“Our priority is bringing up the standard of living, providing equitable development to the entire state, providing an infrastructure for creating a manufacturing base, than to build a single city,” he said.

He added: “You have all of these lined up against one issue. You can have this or that.”

Thus far, the involvement of Singapore firms was relatively minor, restricted to developing a small portion as a financial district, he said.

Dr P.V. Ramesh and Mr Shamsher Singh Rawat, senior officials in Mr Rajendranath’s delegation, told ST that the state was keen to pitch for investors in the new sectors selected for priority development, including a greenfield international airport, four seaports, and aquaculture and healthcare projects.

Amaravati may not be abandoned but a decision on it may yet take months, they said, adding that the state was in favour of developing a decentralised urban environment rather than concentrating all development in a single, large city.

Singapore has been involved in the project since its start in 2014 when Andhra Pradesh embarked on the venture because it lost its capital city Hyderabad to the newly created state of Telangana. Surbana Jurong submitted the city’s masterplan in 2015, while a consortium of Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Development was announced in 2017 as the master developers. The city was conceived to be 10 times the size of Singapore, requiring an investment of billions of dollars.

In his remarks on the issue at the panel discussion, Mr Balakrishnan said the new state government, which has just completed 100 days in office, needed to consider the signal it was sending to investors while deciding on the fate of the project.

“It is the prerogative of the local government to adjust and amend its priorities from time to time, and it is the prerogative of the investors to decide whether to stay or to leave.

“What transcends such changes is the sanctity of contracts,” he said.

“The governments need to consider the signal they send to investors,” he added.

Singapore has remained a highly competitive economy because it provided a stable and predictable environment for investors, he said.

“This lowers the cost of business. This encourages more investments.

“So I would ask everyone to give time to the new government in Andhra Pradesh to sort out its priorities, then allow the private sector to make its own decisions, rationally, on commercial grounds.”

MANILA, Philippines — Angkhana Neelapaijit speaks in a hushed, gentle voice. But when this 63-year-old Thai woman speaks, she cannot be ignored.

Neelapaijit has been the voice of thousands of victims of human rights abuses in Southern Thailand since her husband’s forced disappearance in 2004.

Lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit was then representing five Thai Muslims who were accused of robbery and were reportedly subjected to torture while in detention.

Bigger role

The lawyer was last seen in Bangkok in 2004, reportedly forced into a car by a group of men.

After her husband’s disappearance, Angkhana Neelapaijit went from being a housewife to taking up her husband’s cause as a human rights crusader, documenting human rights violations in her country to pressure the government to act on these cases.

This cause eventually encompassed cases of gender inequality and issues of judicial harassment in Southeast Asia.

For five years, Neelapaijit worked as a member of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand. She was the first commissioner who worked on a grassroots level, an approach that she said had helped her gain the trust of people.

But in July, Neelapaijit and another commissioner resigned, after a new law effectively transformed the commission from an independent body to a government-controlled entity.

“The message of the commissioner is very important. It can protect the victims. But the commissioners were no longer allowed to speak, so how can they perform their function?” Neelapaijit told the Inquirer in an interview at the Ramon Magsaysay Center in Manila.

Then suddenly, a bigger role fell on her lap — as award winner

— just days after her resignation on July 31 as human rights commissioner.

On Aug. 2, the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation announced that Neelapaijit was among the recipients of the prestigious award for “championing justice, case after painful case.”

Harassment cases

Neelapaijit has gone further in her advocacy, pushing for the protection of employees from harassment in the workplace and to stop judicial harassment of human rights defenders. She was also among the proponents who drafted Thailand’s gender equality law.

“When human rights violations happen, most of the victims [say] they want their case to be last. But it will not be the last if you do not have some epic mechanism to protect [human rights]. This is what I’m trying to do,” she said.

“[For] cases of disappearance, the cabinet ratified the United Nations convention against state disappearance since 2017 and the Ministry of Justice drafted a law to protect people from torture and disappearance. It’s still pending in parliament, but this is why we have to work more.”

But Neelapaijit has also been subjected to attacks and investigations in parliament. She must also deal with the spread of fake news and propaganda.

“We cannot stop. If we stop, it will happen and happen again,” she said. “You have to work the hardest so that you can change the system, but it is not easy. As the human rights commissioner, I used to be attacked by the parliament. But my mandate is on the civil and political rights, not the government.”

After her resignation from the rights body, Neelapaijit is going back to development work, where she feels that she can be free to champion her cause.

In 2006, before she was appointed human rights commissioner, Neelapaijit founded Working Group on Justice for Peace (WGJP). The organization brought to court cases of forced disappearances and lobbied for laws aimed at ending impunity. WGJP also worked with other human rights organizations.

Roots

“I think that now I want to go back to my roots and continue my work,” she said. “I’m really lucky that the people, mostly Thai people, respect me. I think I can do better now than when I was the commissioner.”

According to Neelapaijit, Thailand has yet to pass laws that uphold human rights, unlike the Philippines where asylum seekers are welcome and where a law against torture and forced disappearance exists.

“I think the Philippines has a traumatized memory. Since the past year you handle strongly how to fight independently. You have a long history of fighting for freedom. For Thailand, we were never colonized, so we do not have the background of the people who love to come together and try to protect our rights,” Neelapaijit said.

Similarities

She also cited similarities between Thailand’s human rights situation and that of the Philippines.

In 2003, a war on drugs aimed at suppressing drug trafficking and the proliferation of illegal drugs was launched in her home country. Some 2,800 people were killed. According to an official investigation, half of those who were killed were not involved in the drug trade.

“We do similar things to our people. We don’t have a law but we have a strong network of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) people and we have to work together. It’s very important how we can support each other,” Neelapaijit said.

Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1162336/housewife-picks-up-rights-cause-left-by-husbands-disappearance#ixzz5z3DT585n

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Jack Ma will completely retire from Alibaba, the company he founded, on his 55th birthday on Sept 10 this year.

Ma decided to create Alibaba in March 1999, and then, together with his founding team in Hangzhou, started to develop the Alibaba website, which launched in April 1999. It was followed by the unveiling of the online shopping platform Taobao in 2003, the third-party online payment platform Alipay in 2004, and Alibaba’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

In August, the business giant reported strong revenue growth in the first quarter of the 2020 fiscal year (from April 1 to June 30 in 2019), soaring by 42 percent year-on-year to 114.9 billion yuan ($16.7 billion).

Its net profit in this period was 30.95 billion yuan, up 54 percent year-on-year. Annual active consumers on its Chinese retail marketplaces also reached 674 million, an increase of 20 million from the 12-month period ending March 31, 2019. And revenue from its core e-commerce operations rose 44 percent year-on-year to about 99.5 billion yuan, according to the report.

Let’s take another look back at Ma and his company over the past years.

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