IN 2019 RICHARD LIU told couriers working for JD.com that the Chinese e-commerce giant he founded would cancel their base pay after a 2.8bn yuan ($438m) loss the previous year, its 12th consecutive one in the red. Riders would make only a commission on deliveries. If the company did not cut back on spending, Mr Liu warned, it would go bust in two years.
Listen to this story
Your browser does not support the <audio> element.
Far from collapsing, two years on JD Logistics, JD.com’s delivery division, is on a roll, fuelled by a boom in Chinese e-commerce (see chart). Its parent company’s revenues jumped by 39%, year
→ Continue reading at The Economist
