Featured Company News - Alibaba & Marriott Form Joint Venture to Tap Millions of Outbound Chinese Travelers; Announces Alipay across Select Marriott Locations

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Accesswire 9-Aug-2017 7:20 AM
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LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / August 9, 2017 / Pro-Trader Daily takes a look at the latest corporate events and news making the headlines for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA), following which we have published a free report that can be viewed by signing up at http://protraderdaily.com/optin/?symbol=BABA. The Company Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) announced on August 07, 2017, the establishment of a joint venture to redefine the travel experience for the hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers traveling abroad and domestically every year. The joint venture is set to make global travel easy, deliver personalized experiences, and enable wallet-free travel, with Alipay as a payment method, at Marriott hotels in select global markets. For immediate access to our complimentary reports, including today's coverage, register for free now at:
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The Announcement
The joint venture between the two Companies will leverage Marriott's global portfolio of brands and hospitality expertise to revolutionize the travel experience and Alibaba's digital retail leadership and the gateway to reach over 500 mobile monthly active users across its platforms. The venture will manage Marriott's storefront on Fliggy, Alibaba's travel service platform, and will market directly to Alibaba's customer base, delivering a link between Marriott's loyalty program, and support Marriott hotels globally with content, programs, and promotions customized for the Chinese traveler.
The Growing Demand
Alibaba and Marriott view an important growth opportunity in the travel industry where Chinese travelers are expected to take an estimated 700 million over the next five years. The joint venture, according to the Company, will leverage technology to curate customized experiences for Chinese consumers. Marriott's owners and franchisees, globally, are expected to benefit from the joint venture by capturing a greater share of the growing Chinese travel market and lower distribution costs associated with the joint venture.
The joint venture is set to elevate the travel experiences for Chinese travelers in the following ways:
Simplified Global Travel: The joint venture will leverage newly-integrated functionality to make the entire travel experience frictionless from planning, booking, paying, and managing a trip to all the aspects associated, once at the destination.
Personalized Experiences: The joint venture will leverage technology to curate customized experiences for Chinese consumers. Marriott will offer access to private concerts, family-focused experiences, and court-side seats at sporting and other events through its customer loyalty programs.
Wallet-Free Travel: Post the execution of the agreement, Marriott will enable the Alipay across select global markets with further expansion expected around the world.
Q2 2017 Results
Marriott International reported its Q2 2017 results on August 07, 2017. The Company reported total net income of $414 million, advancing 68% from Q2 2016 net income of $247 million. The reported diluted EPS was $1.08 in the quarter, up 13% from diluted EPS of $0.96 for Q2 2016. Marriott added about 16,000 rooms during Q2 2017, including about 2,300 rooms converted from competitor brands and more than 5,900 rooms in the international market.
At the close of Q2 2017, Marriott's worldwide development pipeline advanced to more than 440,000 rooms, including about 42,000 rooms approved, but not yet subject to signed contracts. Marriott also repurchased 7.3 million shares of the Company's common stock for $725 million during Q2 2017. Through August 04, 2017, YTD, the Company repurchased 16.0 million shares for $1.5 billion.
Last Close Stock Review

On Tuesday, August 08, 2017, the stock closed the trading session at $157.50, slightly falling 0.84% from its previous closing price of $158.84. A total volume of 15.41 million shares have exchanged hands. Alibaba's stock price skyrocketed 31.25% in the last three months, 56.20% in the past six months, and 85.29% in the previous twelve months. Furthermore, since the start of the year, shares of the Company have soared 79.36%. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 62.28. At Tuesday's closing price, the stock's net capitalization stands at $403.36 billion.

Marriott's share price finished yesterday's trading session at $103.95, sliding 2.09%. A total volume of 4.62 million shares have exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3-month average volume of 2.48 million shares. The Company's stock price soared 1.41% in the last three months, 21.14% in the past six months, and 43.30% in the previous twelve months. Additionally, the stock rallied 25.73% since the start of the year. Shares of the Company have a PE ratio of 37.53 and have a dividend yield of 1.27%. The stock currently has a market cap of $38.88 billion.

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