In U.S. dollar terms, JD made a profit of $5 billion over the last twelve months, but its enterprise value is only $23 billion - a multiple of less than five times earnings for a group that has multiplied its sales by fifteen in ten years.

Seen from another angle, the stock is currently trading at a price level comparable to where it was ten years ago, while in the meantime JD has multiplied its annual profit by sixty. At the same time, the group is defending a veritable balance sheet-fortress, with no debts and a mountain of excess cash.

Such a paradox can only serve to highlight once again the profound disinterest - indeed, disgust - of investors in the Chinese market.

JD is not alone in this situation. However, comparables such as Alibaba, YY and FinVolution have all launched massive share buyback programs to take advantage of the situation, which the e-commerce group seems slow to resolve.

An announcement along these lines would certainly send out a positive signal. Like Alibaba discussed in this column a few weeks ago, JD has curiously piled up its profits - mountains of cash - on the balance sheet over the years.

This almost raises suspicions: why sit on such a war chest, and not decide sooner to return capital to shareholders?

JD's meteoric growth has also required less investment than might be imagined at first glance. Should we really believe everything we read in the accounts without reservation or caution?

These questions remain unanswered, in addition to the other well-known risks: a Chinese economy in recession after four decades of overheating; a dictatorial and unpredictable government; opaque offshore structures; dubious accounting practices and repeated fraud; etc.

A potential safeguard in the case of JD is the involvement of Walmart, which holds 4.6% of the capital.