Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) has started to increasingly focus on its film segment. The company has reached a new deal in Asia, with respect to its filming segment. The pact will allow Alibaba to acquire a digital effects platform that is based on cloud computing. However, Alibaba has also announced that it will temporarily halt its hiring process, so as to improve efficiency.
The cloud based digital effects service is something new to the industry and Alibaba would be amongst the first ones to get it. The deal, being signed with Rayvision, would have substantial benefit for Alibaba since the former commands 70% of the market. The two companies are planning to launch the platform as part of Alibaba’s Aliyun. Aliyun is a cloud service, which already has a customer base of 1.4 million customers.
Alibaba has already hinted of a subsequent partnership with Rayvision in the near future. Simon Hu, the president of Aliyun, stated that the move is in accordance with providing Chinese filmmakers with the right set of tools to produce amazing movies. He also hinted that the resources would be made available to small studios, to maximize their potential.
For a company whose top priority is expansion, Alibaba has stated that it fears that it is growing too fast. The company currently employs around 30,000 people and the founder, Jack Ma, announced that the hiring needs to stop. The same would apply to its subsidiaries, with new people being hired only after an old one leaves.
Alibaba plans to hold the headcount at 30,000 for the rest of the year, at least since it believes that the current employees should work to their fullest potential. The company has been facing a decline in share price and credibility, which has substantially affected the revenue. Now, the company is looking to increase the share of revenues from outside China.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) closed at $80.59 after losing 0.71% on May 4. The company has 2.49 billion shares being traded in the market, with a 52-week range of $80.03-$120.
