In depth: Pinduoduo's rising star proves hard to keep aloft

Growth of e-commerce platform threatened by government curbs and angry vendors

20210415 Caixin Pinduoduo AP_19043299764196

At the end of 2020, Pinduoduo overtook 20-year-old Alibaba to become the largest e-commerce player with 788 million annual active buyers.  © AP

YUAN RUIYANG, QU YUNXU and HAN WEI, Caixin

Chinese e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo has been an investor darling for much of its eye-popping growth. But efforts to maintain its ascent are proving increasingly costly.

The Shanghai-based company, which debuted on the Nasdaq in 2018, has become a favorite stock for institutional investors, sitting among the top holdings in 54 portfolios, according to market data provider Whale Wisdom. Pinduoduo was also the biggest asset of leading private equity fund Hillhouse Capital Group and Greenwoods Asset Management Limited as of the end of 2020.

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