Taobao Taiwan shut down its e-commerce site on Thursday after the Taiwanese government ordered the company to re-register as land-based or quit the country, amid heightened cross-strait tensions and increased scrutiny of Chinese companies by authorities.
According to a Reuters report today, Taobao is shutting down its e-commerce site as its funding background is being questioned by Taiwanese authorities.
According to UK-registered Creda Investments Ltd, which operates Taobao in Taiwan, Creda stopped its operations in Taiwan “in light of the many uncertainties that still exist in the market environment”. Creda also said it would shut down its Taiwan operations by the end of 2020 and said it would assist merchants in fulfilling existing orders with buyers. In a draft statement, the company said, “… After many careful evaluations by the company… Creda resolved to officially cease Creda’s operations in Taiwan at 23:59 on December 31 this year.”
Taiwan authorities said in August that Creda was in fact controlled by China’s Alibaba Group, and ordered that it be either divested or re-registered as land-based rather than foreign-owned, or it would have to leave Taiwan.
Crida has previously said that Taobao Taiwan is not a member of Alibaba Group and is a separate company from China’s Alibaba’s Taobao.
Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters.
Recent Comments