CHINESE e-commerce site and sourcing market place Alibaba will set up its headquarters for international operations in Shenzhen, according to a strategic cooperation agreement signed with the Shenzhen government at Wuzhou Guest House yesterday.
“The city’s advantage in talent and geographic proximity to Hong Kong, a gateway to expand overseas, are the main reasons for Alibaba’s decision,” Ma Yun, chief executive officer of Alibaba Networking Technology Co., said after the signing ceremony.
Shenzhen Acting Mayor Wang Rong lauded the agreement. The city has been approved by the Central Government to pilot e-commerce.
Alibaba will establish its R&D center for its software business cluster in Shenzhen and cooperate with the city in several fields, including electronics and information, banks, insurance and logistics.
“Guangdong has long been regarded as the ‘factory of the world.’ Alibaba hopes to help upgrade the manufacturing industry in Guangdong and promote small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to the world,” said Ma.
Alibaba has 5,000 employees in Guangdong and cooperation with Shenzhen would create more job opportunities for the talent here, he said.
Alibaba was founded in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 10 years ago by Ma, then a teacher. The company has grown to be one of China’s largest Internet companies, focusing on e-commerce services for SMEs and the self-employed.
Launched by Alibaba in 2003, Taobao (www.taobao.com) is the largest Internet retail Web site in China with 78 percent of the domestic online consumer market. It provides a comprehensive product offering ranging from collectibles and hard-to-find items to mainstream retail categories.
Transaction volume on Taobao reached nearly US$11.8 billion in the first half of 2009, exceeding the largest retailer in China in transaction volume during the same period. By the end of June, it had 145 million registered members.
Cai Yingbo