E-commerce company turns seven groups into 25 divisions

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China's biggest e-commerce company, has restructured its seven business groups, turning them into 25 business units in the second such change it has made in six months.

The restructuring is "the most difficult one" the company has undertaken since it was established in 1999, said Jack Ma, Alibaba chairman and chief executive officer, in an e-mail sent to company employees on Thursday.

The previous change came in July 2012, when the company made its six subsidiaries into seven business groups, a step meant to strengthen its control over its various business arms.

The latest restructuring, which has further divided its business into smaller units, is aimed at making the company's organization more agile in the mobile Internet age, Ma said.

Analysts said the recent changes have come as preparation for Alibaba's listing as a single company.

"Change is painful," Ma said in the e-mail. "But if we don't change, we won't even have a chance to feel those pains."

According to the company, its new structure has provided it with a decision-making committee and management and execution committee that will be in charge of planning and executing strategies.

Nine executives will oversee the 25 new business units, up from the seven people who have had similar responsibilities since July.

The changes are the latest in a series of restructurings the company and its competitors have undertaken in the past two years.

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