Alibaba Cloud’s FY2018 results inspire optimism

Investment bank and financial services company Morgan Stanely has increased Alibaba Cloud’s (阿里云) valuation from $39 billion to $68 billion. It said it expects the cloud computing company’s revenue to reach $28.5 billion in 2024.

According to reports, the company is the third biggest cloud solutions provider globally, falling just behind Amazon and Microsoft. However, at home, it commands 47.5% of the market.

The company’s financial results have been driving Wall Street’s optimism. Alibaba Cloud reported revenue of RMB 13.39 billion for FY2018, exceeding analysts’ expectations. Morgan Stanley has set the company’s expected 2024 revenue to $28.5 billion.

In a recent earnings conference call, executives said the company has its sights on the international market, hoping to challenge Amazon and Microsoft. In March, it opened its first data center in Indonesia.

The company is also looking to provide innovative computing solutions. In 2017, it launched 316 products and features, 60 of which were focussed on high-value fields, including artificial intelligence.

The company also piloted its smart city project in Hangzhou in 2017. Dubbed City Brain, it aimed to leverage its AI, deep learning and data analytics capabilities to perform real-time traffic prediction. It later launched its Malaysian City Brain initiative in January 2018.

Alibaba Cloud is also banking heavily on the internet of things (IoT). At the 2018 Cloud Computing Conference in Shenzhen, the company said it aspired to connect 10 billion devices by 2023. These include both devices in homes and connected cars.

Correction: The article originally indicated Alibaba Cloud reported a 2018 Q1 revenue of RMB 13.39 billion. This was later changed to a revenue of RMB 13.39 billion for FY2018.