Retail Site Taobao to Split into Three

(Beijing) -- Alibaba Group will split its unit Taobao.com, China's largest online retail site, into three entities to better serve the group's overall growth strategy.

The creation of three separate businesses may make Taobao lose its large scale advantage in the short term, but can generate bigger industrial value for the group, Alibaba Chairman and CEO Jack Ma said in an email to company staff.