v3.22.1
Investments
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Schedule of Investments [Abstract]  
Investments
 
4
.
  INVESTMENTS
Short-term Investments
As of December 31, 2020 and 2021, the Company’s short-term investments comprised of only debt securities. Short-term
held-to-maturity
securities were mainly deposits in commercial banks with maturities less than one year and wealth management products issued by commercial banks and other financial institutions for which the Company has the positive intent and ability to hold those securities to maturity. The short-term
available-for-sale
securities include wealth management products issued by commercial banks and other financial institutions which are not classified as trading securities or as
held-to-maturity
securities.
During
 
the years ended December 
31
,
2019
,
2020
and
2021
, the Company recorded interest income from its short-term investments of RMB
5.4
 billion, RMB
4.7
 billion and RMB
4.5
 billion (US$
701
 million) in the consolidated statements of comprehensive (loss) income, respectively.
Short-term investments classification as of December 31, 2020 and 2021 were shown as below:
 
 
  
As of December 31, 2020
 
 
  
Cost or
Amortized
cost less
allowance
for credit
losses
 
  
Gross
unrecognized
holding gains
 
  
Gross
unrecognized
holding
losses
 
  
Gross
unrealized
gains
 
  
Gross
unrealized
losses
 
  
Fair value
 
  
RMB
 
  
RMB
 
  
RMB
 
  
RMB
 
  
RMB
 
  
RMB
 
 
  
(In millions)
 
Held-to-maturity
debt investments
  
 
123,537
 
  
 
595
 
  
 
—  
 
  
 
—  
 
  
 
—  
 
  
 
124,132  
Available-for-sale
debt investments
  
 
2,862
 
  
 
—  
 
  
 
—  
 
  
 
3
 
  
 
—  
 
  
 
2,865  

 
 
As of December 31, 2021
 
 
 
Cost or
Amortized
cost less
allowance
for credit
losses
 
 
Gross
unrecognized
holding gains
 
 
Gross
unrecognized
holding
losses
 
 
Gross
unrealized
gains
 
 
Gross
unrealized
losses
 
 
Fair value
 
 
RMB
 
 
RMB
 
 
RMB
 
 
RMB
 
 
RMB
 
 
RMB
 
 
US$
 
 
 
(In millions)
 
Held-to-maturity
debt investments
    140,686       898       —         —         —         141,584       22,218  
Available-for-sale
debt investments
    2,547       —         —         10       —         2,557       401  
Long-term Investments
The following table sets forth a breakdown of the categories of long-term investments held by the Company as of the dates indicated:
 
 
  
As of December 31,
 
 
  
2020
 
  
2021
 
  
2021
 
 
  
RMB
 
  
RMB
 
  
US$
 
 
  
(In millions)
 
Equity investments at fair value with readily determinable fair value
  
 
12,978
 
  
 
16,375
 
  
 
2,570
 
Equity investments without readily determinable fair value
(i)
     24,603        11,745        1,843  
Available-for-sale
debt investments
     2,607        2,262        355  
Equity method investments
     24,067        24,808        3,893  
Investments accounted for at fair value
     2,238        4,228        663  
Long-term
held-to-maturity
investments
     9,740        7,914        1,242  
Total long-term investments
     76,233        67,332        10,566  
    
 
 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
(i)
The total carrying value of equity investments without readily determinable fair value using NAV practical expedient was RMB957 million
 
(US$150 million) for the year ended December 31, 2021. The total carrying value of equity investments without readily determinable fair value using measurement alternative was RMB10,788
m
illion
 
(US$1,693
 
m
illion) for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Equity investments at fair value with readily determinable fair value
Equity investments at fair value with readily determinable fair value represent investments in the equity securities of publicly listed companies, for which the Company does not have significant influence.
In
 
2017
, the Company acquired equity interests in China United Network Communication Limited (“China Unicom”), a listed telecommunications company in China for cash consideration of RMB
7.0
 billion. The China Unicom investment was held by a
non-wholly-owned
subsidiary of the Company. In
2020
, the China Unicom investment was accounted for as an equity investment with readily determinable fair value and the Company partially disposed its investment in China Unicom for RMB
2.7
 billion.
Equity investments without readily determinable fair value
The Company accounted for private equity funds of which the Company does not have the ability to exercise significant influence using NAV practical expedient in accordance with ASC 820. For equity investments
 
without readily determinable fair value
and
do not qualify for the NAV practical expedient, the Company
elected to use the measurement alternative to measure such investments at cost, less any impairment, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for identical or similar investments of the same issuer, if any
 in accordance with ASC 321.
Impairment charges recognized on equity investments without readily determinable fair value
were
RMB778 million, RMB2,310 
m
illion and RMB4,259 
m
illion (US$668 million)
 
for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.
The total carrying value of equity investments without readily determinable fair value that do not qualify for NAV practical expedient held as of December 31, 2020 and 2021 were as follows:
 
    
As of

December 31,
2020
   
As of

December 31,
2021
   
As of

December 31,
2021
 
    
RMB
   
RMB
   
US$
 
    
(In millions)
 
Initial cost basis
     19,725       13,016       2,042  
Cumulative unrealized gains
     8,113       3,910       614  
Cumulative unrealized losses (including impairment)
     (3,235     (6,138     (963
    
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
Total carrying value
     24,603       10,788       1,693  
    
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
Total unrealized and realized gains and losses of equity securities without readily determinable fair values that do not qualify for NAV practical expedient for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021 were as follows:
 
 
  
For the years ended

December 31,
 
 
  
2019
 
 
2020
 
 
2021
 
 
2021
 
 
  
RMB
 
 
RMB
 
 
RMB
 
 
US$
 
 
  
(In millions)
 
Gross unrealized gains
     1,447       4,396       1,062       167  
Gross unrealized losses (including impairment)
(i)
     (1,641     (2,679     (4,424     (694
    
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
Net unrealized (losses)
gains
on equity securities held
     (194     1,717       (3,362     (527
Net realized gains on equity securities sold
     211       266       —         —    
    
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
Total net gains (losses) recognized
     17       1,983       (3,362     (527
    
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
(i)
Gross unrealized losses (downward adjustments excluding impairment) were RMB863 million, RMB378 million and RMB165 million (US$26 million) for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Equity method investments
The carrying amounts of the Company’s equity method investments were RMB24.1 billion and RMB24.8 billion (US$3.9 billion) as of December 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, the impairment recognized for equity method investments were RMB9.2 billion, RMB297 million and RMB57 million (US$9 million), respectively.
Equity Investment in Trip.com International, Ltd. (“Trip”) (formally known as Ctrip)
As of December 31, 2018, the Company held approximately 19% of Trip’s outstanding shares. The Company was considered to have significant influence over Trip and accounts for such investment as an equity method investment in accordance with ASC 323.
During 2019, the market value of Trip had significantly declined and remained below the carrying value of the investment for a prolonged period of time. Therefore, the Company concluded that the decline in market value of the investment in Trip was other-than-temporary as of September 30, 2019 and an impairment charge of RMB8.9
 billion was recorded in
the
third quarter of 2019. The Company made a corresponding RMB
8.9 billion downward adjustment to the equity method goodwill arising from its acquisition of the Trip investment.
In October 2019, the Company disposed an aggregate of
36
 million American Depositary Shares of Trip for cash consideration of US$
988
 million and recognized a disposal loss of RMB
43
 million in the year ended December 31, 2019.
After the partial disposal of the investment in Trip the Company held approximately 12% equity interest in Trip, and the Company can actively participate in the operating and financing policies of Trip through its two seats on Trip’s board of directors with a total of nine members. Accordingly, the Company continues to have significant influence over Trip and accounts for its remaining investment as an equity method investment in accordance with ASC 323. As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s investments in Trip had a fair value of RMB10.9 billion
 (US$1.7 billion),
 based on the closing share price.
The following tables set forth the summarized financial information of Trip:
                         
    
As of September 30,
(i)
 
    
2020
    
2021
    
2021
 
    
RMB
    
RMB
    
US$
 
    
(In millions)
 
Current assets
     65,782        76,596        12,020  
Non-current
assets
     132,417        124,268        19,500  
Current liabilities
     61,360        73,517        11,536  
Non-current
liabilities
     36,558        16,418        2,576  
Noncontrolling interests
     1,566        924        145  
                                 
    
For the twelve months ended

September 30,
(i)
 
    
2019
    
2020
   
2021
   
2021
 
    
RMB
    
RMB
   
RMB
   
US$
 
    
(In millions)
 
Total revenues
     34,958        21,704       20,313       3,188  
Gross profit
     27,627        16,838       15,916       2,498  
Income (loss) from operations
     4,271        (827     (723     (113
Net income (loss)
     3,764        (2,236     1,198       188  
Net income (loss) attributable to the investees
     3,813        (2,243     1,288       202  
 
(i)
The Company adopted a
one-quarter
lag in reporting its share of equity income (loss) in Trip.
Equity Investment in Jidu Auto Inc. (“Jidu”)
In January 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (“Geely”) to established Jidu to produce intelligent electric vehicles. The Company hold an equity interest of 52.38%, however, considering the substantive participating rights held by Geely, the Company accounts for its investment as an equity method investment in accordance with ASC 323.
 
Disposal of financial services business
After finishing a series of legal restructuring and recapitalization of the financial services business (“Du Xiaoman”), the Company retained 41% of Du Xiaoman ’s shares on a fully diluted basis, and accounted as an equity method investment in accordance with ASC 323, as it retained significant influence over Du Xiaoman. The carrying amount of the Du Xiaoman investment in excess of the Company’s proportionate interest in Du Xiaoman was recognized as equity method goodwill of RMB3.5 billion, intangible assets of RMB851 million and related deferred tax liabilities of RMB213 million.
Deconsolidation of one of the Company’s subsidiaries
In December 2019, the Company lost control and therefore deconsolidated one of its subsidiaries. A
non-cash
disposal loss of RMB801 million was recognized in “Others, net” in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company continued to have significant influence over the entity and accounted for its remaining equity interest in the entity as an equity-method investment in accordance with ASC 323.
As of December 31, 2020 and 2021, in addition to the aforementioned equity method investments, the Company held other equity method investments through its subsidiaries or VIEs and over which had significant influence.
 
For the year ended December 31, 2021, equity method investments excluding Trip held by the Company in aggregate have met the significance criteria as defined under
Rule 4-08(g) of
Regulation S-X.
Financial information for the Company’s equity method investments other than Trip are summarized as a group as follow:​​​​​​​
                         
    
As of September 30,
(i)
 
    
2020
    
2021
    
2021
 
    
RMB
    
RMB
    
US$
 
    
(In millions)
 
Current assets
     96,713        125,266        19,657  
Non-current
assets
     15,094        18,512        2,905  
Current liabilities
     73,842        90,744        14,240  
Non-current
liabilities
     5,545        9,218        1,447  
Noncontrolling interests
     1,577        1,662        261  
                                 
    
For the twelve months ended
September 30,
(i)
 
    
2019
   
2020
   
2021
    
2021
 
    
RMB
   
RMB
   
RMB
    
US$
 
    
(In millions)
 
Total revenues
     12,598       13,981       21,380        3,355  
Gross profit
     6,247       5,083       7,624        1,196  
(Loss) income from operations
     (680     (1,282     1,238        194  
Net (loss) income
     (638     (832     2,065        324  
Net (loss) income attributable to the investees
     (933     (891     2,040        320  
 
(i)
The Company adopted a
one-quarter
lag in reporting its share of (loss) income in majority of its equity investees.
 
Investments accounted for at fair value
Long-term equity investments in unlisted companies held by consolidated investment companies are accounted for at fair value in accordance with ASC
946-320.
These investments are carried at fair value with realized or unrealized gains and losses recorded in “Others, net” in the consolidated statements of comprehensive (loss) income.
The methodology used in the determination of fair values for
held-to-maturity
debt investments,
available-for-sale
debt investments, equity investments with readily determinable fair values and other investment securities accounted for at fair value are disclosed in Note 25.
Long-term investments classification, excluding equity method investments and equity investments without readily determinable fair value, as of December 31, 2020 and 2021 are shown as below:​​​​​​​
                                 
    
As of December 31, 2020
 
    
Cost or
Amortized cost
    
Gross
unrealized
gains
    
Gross
unrealized
losses
   
Fair
value
 
    
RMB
    
RMB
    
RMB
   
RMB
 
    
(In millions)
 
Equity investments at fair value with readily determinable fair value
     8,419        7,342        (2,783     12,978  
Available-for-sale
debt investments
     2,804        166        (363     2,607  
Investments accounted for at fair value
     1,580        885        (227     2,238  
                                         
    
As of December 31, 2021
 
    
Cost or
Amortized cost
    
Gross
unrealized
gains
    
Gross
unrealized
losses
   
Fair value
 
    
RMB
    
RMB
    
RMB
   
RMB
    
US$
 
    
(In millions)
 
Equity investments at fair value with readily determinable fair value
     15,046        6,046        (4,717     16,375        2,570  
Available-for-sale
debt investments
     2,820        216        (774     2,262        355  
Investments accounted for at fair value
     1,974        2,653        (399     4,228        663  
Long-term
held-to-maturity
investments
Long-term
held-to-maturity
securities were mainly deposits in commercial banks with maturities of greater than one year and wealth management products issued by commercial banks and other financial institutions for which the Company has the positive intent and ability to hold those securities to maturity with maturities of greater than one year.
During the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, the Company recorded interest income from its long-term
held-to-maturity
investments of RMB2 million, RMB118 million and RMB326 million (US$51 million) in the consolidated statements of comprehensive (loss) income, respectively.
Long-term
held-to-maturity
investments classification as of December 31, 2020 and 2021 were shown as below:
                                 
    
As of December 31, 202
0
 
    
Cost or
Amortized
cost
    
Gross

unrecognized
holding gains
    
Gross
unrecognized
holding
losses
    
Fair
value
 
    
RMB
    
RMB
    
RMB
    
RMB
 
    
(In millions)
 
Long-term
held-to-maturity
investments
     9,740        14        —          9,754  
                                         
    
As of December 31, 2021
 
    
Cost or
Amortized
cost
    
Gross

unrecognized
holding gains
    
Gross
unrecognized
holding
losses
    
Fair value
 
    
RMB
    
RMB
    
RMB
    
RMB
    
US$
 
    
(In millions)
 
Long-term
held-to-maturity
investments
     7,914        100        —          8,014        1,258  
The following table summarizes the amortized cost of
long-term
held-to-maturity
investments with stated contractual dates, classified by the contractual maturity date of the investments:

    
As of December 31,
 
    
2020
    
2021
    
2021
 
    
RMB
    
RMB
    
US$
 
    
(In millions)
 
Due in 1 year
     —          —          —    
Due in 1 year through 2 years
     9,690        7,914        1,242  
Due in 2 years through 3 years
     50        —          —    
    
 
 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Total
     9,740        7,914        1,242  
    
 
 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Available-for-sale debt investments
Available-for-sale
debt investments are convertible debt instruments issued by private companies and an investment in preferred shares that is redeemable at the Company’s option, which are measured at fair value. Investments in preferred shares that are redeemable at the Company’s option have no contractual maturity date.
The following table summarizes the estimated fair value of
available-for-sale
debt investments with stated contractual dates, classified by the contractual maturity date of the investments:
 
 
  
As of December 31,
 
 
  
2020
 
  
2021
 
  
2021
 
 
  
RMB
 
  
RMB
 
  
US$
 
 
  
(In millions)
 
Due in 1 year
     —          —          —    
Due in 1 year through 5 years
     1,587        1,685        264  
Not due at a single maturity date
     1,020        577        91  
    
 
 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Total
     2,607        2,262        355