Belgian intelligence service monitors Alibaba hub over 'espionage' worry - FT

Belgium's intelligence service has been monitoring the main logistics hub in Europe of China's Alibaba Group Holding (9988.HK) over concern about possible espionage, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Thursday.

Referring to the company's logistics center at the cargo airport in the city of Liege, the security service said it was working to detect "possible espionage or interference activities" by Chinese entities including Alibaba, the newspaper said.

Alibaba denied any wrongdoing, it added. Alibaba and the Belgian State Security Service (VSSE) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Alibaba signed an agreement with the Belgium government in 2018 to open an e-commerce trade hub, run by its logistics arm Cainiao, that would include investment in logistics infrastructure.

The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, said the Belgian security service was monitoring the company's operations "following intelligence assessments", with one area of scrutiny being the introduction of software systems that collate sensitive economic information.

The Belgian security agency told the FT the presence of Alibaba "constitutes a point of attention" for it because of legislation forcing Chinese companies to share their data with Chinese authorities and intelligence services.

Alibaba last month filed to list Cainiao on the Hong Kong stock exchange, which would make the unit the first to be separated since the Chinese e-commerce giant said this year it would restructure and split its business into six units.