Asian Tech Giants Told to Ditch US Obsession—Before It’s Too Late

Another quarter, another earnings call where Silicon Valley sucks all the oxygen out of the room. But one exec is screaming into the void: Asia’s tech leaders need to wake up and smell the emerging markets.

’Betting everything on America is like shorting Bitcoin in 2016—technically you might survive, but why would you?’ quipped the anonymous executive, between sips of a $28 cold brew. The numbers don’t lie: while Western VCs play musical chairs with AI startups, Southeast Asia’s digital economy alone is projected to hit $1 trillion by 2030.

So where’s the smart money flowing? Hint: not toward Sand Hill Road. From Jakarta to Johannesburg, infrastructure gaps mean everything from payment rails to cloud storage needs rebuilding—with blockchain-ready architecture, naturally. Meanwhile, Wall Street still thinks ’emerging markets’ means buying Starbucks stock with extra foam.

The kicker? This isn’t about charity or geopolitics. It’s about cold, hard arbitrage—the kind that turns telecom companies into fintech giants and e-commerce apps into central banks. Just don’t tell the MBA grads running your ’global’ strategy.

Alibaba’s e-commerce business is affected by the closure of a tariff loophole

Alibaba’s e-commerce has also been hurt by a recent decision by the US that shut a tariff loophole for small parcels sent from mainland China and Hong Kong. That move, part of the US government’s broader trade measures, has added pressure to the company’s bottom line.

Last week’s disappointing earnings sent Alibaba’s shares tumbling by their largest margin in over a month. Investors are growing cautious about the company’s ability to weather China’s ongoing economic slowdown and to leverage its position in the AI race sparked by the launch of models like DeepSeek.

Alibaba stock price. Source: Google Finance

Nevertheless, Tsai defended Alibaba’s direction on Saturday, saying the firm was on “a very good path” and emphasizing its continued focus on e-commerce and artificial intelligence.

Since taking charge in 2023, Tsai and Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu have steered Alibaba through a period of intense regulatory scrutiny. They have prioritized investments in AI and Core retail operations while divesting non-essential assets to fund continued growth and global expansion.

Alibaba has been busy rolling out AI offerings this year, aiming to keep pace with international rivals. Just last month, the company unveiled its Qwen3 flagship model, which it claims matches or exceeds DeepSeek’s performance on several benchmarks.

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