On September 1st, BABA-W (09988.HK) became the focal point in the Hong Kong stock market, with its share price surging over 19% intraday to reach HK$138 per share. The Alibaba concept sector also climbed, with gains exceeding 2% at one point. This significant price rally reflects the market's heightened attention and positive expectations regarding Alibaba's strategic positioning in the AI sector.

In February this year, Alibaba announced a heavyweight plan to invest over 380 billion yuan in building cloud and AI hardware infrastructure over the next three years. During the earnings call on August 29th, Alibaba CEO Wu Yongming further indicated that while quarterly AI development expenditure may fluctuate due to supply chain variations, Alibaba has prepared "backup plans" based on global AI chip supply and policy changes. Through partnerships with various collaborators, Alibaba is building a diversified supply chain reserve to ensure the 380 billion yuan capital expenditure proceeds as planned. This steadfast investment undoubtedly serves as strong endorsement of its AI strategy.

From Alibaba's latest second-quarter financial results, the effectiveness of its AI investments is evident. Alibaba Cloud revenue grew 26%, reaching a three-year high, while AI-related revenue achieved triple-digit growth for eight consecutive quarters, accounting for over 20% of external commercial revenue. Currently, Alibaba has achieved a virtuous cycle between AI investment and revenue growth.

In chip development, Alibaba's Pingtouge has launched chips including Hanguang 800, Yitian 710, and Zhenyue 510, while DAMO Academy's XuanTie division focuses on RISC-V architecture, actively promoting the domestication of the AI computing power market. Recent market rumors suggest Alibaba is developing new AI chips aimed at filling NVIDIA's gap in the Chinese market, with these chips reportedly entering the testing phase. If true, this would further complete Alibaba's AI chip portfolio.

Such large-scale expansion in AI and cloud computing business has created explosive demand for hardware equipment like servers. LENOVO GROUP (00992.HK), as a major participant in the global server market, maintains close cooperation with Alibaba.

The collaboration between LENOVO GROUP and Alibaba has a long history and continues to deepen. As early as 2017, LENOVO GROUP began cooperating with Alibaba Cloud and has consistently been an important server supplier for Alibaba Cloud. In April this year, LENOVO GROUP Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing revealed that Lenovo servers have won favor from major clients including Alibaba and ByteDance.

From a hardware supply perspective, LENOVO GROUP can provide customized, high-performance server products to meet Alibaba's diverse needs in complex business scenarios including cloud computing, big data processing, and AI model training. Additionally, LENOVO GROUP and Alibaba maintain extensive cooperation in AI PC and intelligent solutions for industries and enterprises.

In LENOVO GROUP's Q1 FY2026 financial results, operating revenue reached 136.2 billion yuan, with net profit under non-Hong Kong financial reporting standards increasing 22% year-over-year to 2.816 billion yuan, demonstrating solid financial performance. In the server business segment, LENOVO GROUP's performance was equally impressive. Its AI infrastructure business maintained explosive growth with Q1 revenue increasing 155% year-over-year, while order backlog also showed strong performance and liquid cooling technology solutions achieved nearly 30% revenue growth.

In the Chinese market, ISG maintained ultra-high-speed growth and improved profitability, with revenue growing 76% year-over-year and operating profit margin improving by 3 percentage points year-over-year. According to IDC's Q1 2025 x86 server market data, LENOVO GROUP's servers ranked among the global top three, with revenue surging 74.8% to $4.12 billion, leading growth among the top five global manufacturers and achieving dual success in market share and revenue.

Looking ahead, as Alibaba continues to deepen its presence in the AI field, its demand for servers will maintain stable and robust growth momentum. LENOVO GROUP, leveraging its comprehensive capabilities in server research and development, production, delivery, and technical services, combined with its solid cooperative foundation with Alibaba, is well-positioned to secure more orders in Alibaba's server procurement, further consolidating its leading position in the server market and achieving sustained growth in revenue and profits. The deep cooperation between both parties is also expected to inject new vitality into the development of the entire AI industry ecosystem, bringing more innovative outcomes and transformations.