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Although it sickened thousands and killed almost eight hundred people, the outbreak had a curiously beneficial impact on the Chinese Internet sector, including Alibaba. SARS validated digital mobile telephony and the Internet, and so came to represent the turning point when the Internet emerged as a truly mass medium in China.

The virus gave a major boost to texting, which increased business for cellular companies like China Mobile. However, SARS also boosted the three Chinese Internet portals thanks to revenue-sharing agreements with the telecom company. As the shares in Sina, Sohu, and NetEase began to climb, investor interest in Chinese technology companies was suddenly reignited. Cell phone usage wasn’t the only thing to benefit; broadband Internet access got a huge lift, too, as millions of people, confined to their homes or dormitories for days or weeks on end, looked to the Internet for information or entertainment.

Excerpted from page 159 of ‘Alibaba: The House that Jack Ma built’ by Duncan Clark