For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
"My top speculative idea for 2008 is Alibaba.com (HK: 1688), which trades on the Hong Kong exchange," says Yiannis Mostrous, editor of The Silk Road Investor. "Alibaba.com was one of the biggest IPOs of the year and although the initial excitement has subsided, the longer-term story remains intact.
"Alibaba's business is simple. Companies can post products for sale or purchase from Alibaba's web site for free. It charges suppliers from China and Hong Kong an annual fee of as much as US$8,027 to become premium members. A similar service is offered to suppliers from other regions for an annual fee of US$589.
"Alibaba.com is the flagship company of the Alibaba Group that includes Taobao, which operates an online shopping marketplace for consumers in China; Alipay, China's leading online payment service; Yahoo! China and Alisoft, an internet-based business management software company targeting small and medium enterprises in China.
"According to the latest statistics, China was home to 162 million internet users at the end of June, second only to the US. The country is expected to surpass the US as the world's largest web market by users next year.
"Given the company's high valuations, viewing it as a speculative play should be the right approach for now. But don't underestimate its potential if the markets and the economy remain reasonable strong entering 2008. Buy Alibaba up to HK$50."
Monday, December 31, 2007
Alibaba's Taobao.com to launch B2C services next March
Taobao.com, Alibaba's<1688> online auction site, has confirmed that it will launch the business-to-consumer (B2C) services from Mar. 1, 2008, according to a Chinese source.
Taobao will integrate its parent's B2B and C2C platforms on its own website rather than launching a new B2C platform. Earlier reports said Taobao had already signed up well-known companies such as Motorola, Nokia, Haier, Aigo, Lining, Adidas, Giordano, and UT Starcom in preparation to expand its B2C services.
It is estimated that China's B2C market value will amount to RMB 13.6 billion in 2011, with an annual growth rate of about 48.63%. However, the market is currently dominated by dangdang.com and Amazon.com's China online retailer.
Though Taobao's existing user base will significantly aid the launch of its B2C service, the company's lack of experience and infrastructure in logistics will impede the business unit's growth, according to industry analysts.
As the most popular online auction site in China, Taobao's transaction volume for the first half of 2007 was RMB 15.7 billion, almost double the amount for the same period last year. As of Jul. 30, 2007, it has about 75 million online product listings, with 39.9 million registered users.
EC21.com, Global B2B major, Strengthens Sales Operations in India
(openPR) - Seoul, Korea - EC21.com, the world’s leading B2B marketplace for buyers and sellers is strengthening its presence in India with focus on key industry segments and special promotional plans to target big number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region. The company, which made its foray into Indian market earlier this year by opening its sales and marketing office in Coimbatore, provides online marketing services and promotional tools to buyers and sellers to find new trade opportunities and promote their businesses online.
Globally, EC21 is recognized as a pioneer in B2B e-commerce that helps SME suppliers to promote their business to the worldwide buyers, and provides an easy sourcing platform to buyers to find and reach new suppliers 24/7 through its business-to-business portal ec21.com. EC21 provides free and premium membership services using which suppliers can easily create their own homepage to showcase products online, locate and contact global buyers, and post trade offers to sell. Buyers can easily locate and contact suppliers, and can post offers to buy.
The opening of new Indian office was formally announced in an official function held in Coimbatore earlier this year in September. The launch event was attended by over 50 key press and media representatives along with senior Management of EC21 Inc, Korea head office that included Mr. Kim Tae Sung-Executive Vice-President, Mr. Song Young Look- Managing Director and Mr. Vivek Batra, Global Head-International Business & Strategic Alliances.
On the occasion, Mr.Taesung Kim said, “ We are pleased with the opening of our new Indian office. India is one of the fastest growing and emerging economies with an increasing demand and need for business support. Our site can greatly help Indian manufacturers, suppliers and exporters to promote their business to the worldwide buyers easily and in most cost effective ways. We have many success stories from all around the world and now we want to extend same benefits and advantages to Indian companies to grow their business”, he added.
The Indian office based in Coimbatore will be headed by Mr. V.Suresh Kumar, with sales and service personnel operating directly from strategic locations around the country. The new office will serve both existing and potential new customers and now Indian customers can directly contact local sales representatives in India for any inquiries or interest in availing EC21 services.
Globally, EC21 is recognized as a pioneer in B2B e-commerce that helps SME suppliers to promote their business to the worldwide buyers, and provides an easy sourcing platform to buyers to find and reach new suppliers 24/7 through its business-to-business portal ec21.com. EC21 provides free and premium membership services using which suppliers can easily create their own homepage to showcase products online, locate and contact global buyers, and post trade offers to sell. Buyers can easily locate and contact suppliers, and can post offers to buy.
The opening of new Indian office was formally announced in an official function held in Coimbatore earlier this year in September. The launch event was attended by over 50 key press and media representatives along with senior Management of EC21 Inc, Korea head office that included Mr. Kim Tae Sung-Executive Vice-President, Mr. Song Young Look- Managing Director and Mr. Vivek Batra, Global Head-International Business & Strategic Alliances.
On the occasion, Mr.Taesung Kim said, “ We are pleased with the opening of our new Indian office. India is one of the fastest growing and emerging economies with an increasing demand and need for business support. Our site can greatly help Indian manufacturers, suppliers and exporters to promote their business to the worldwide buyers easily and in most cost effective ways. We have many success stories from all around the world and now we want to extend same benefits and advantages to Indian companies to grow their business”, he added.
The Indian office based in Coimbatore will be headed by Mr. V.Suresh Kumar, with sales and service personnel operating directly from strategic locations around the country. The new office will serve both existing and potential new customers and now Indian customers can directly contact local sales representatives in India for any inquiries or interest in availing EC21 services.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
China's Alibaba.com aims to expand in Europe through acquisitions - CEO
Saturday, December 29, 2007
0
FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Chinese business-to-business e-commerce platform Alibaba.com plans to expand into Europe through acquisitions, chief executive David Wei told Financial Times Deutschland.The company will use 'about 60 pct' of its 1.7 bln usd in proceeds from its initial public offering for acquisitions, new technology and strategic alliances, Wei said.
'And we have decided to invest more in Europe,' he said.
Alibaba.com has about 24 mln registered users, of which 21 mln are on the company's Chinese-language platform, while the rest are registered on its English-language marketplace.
The company focuses mainly on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which aim to lower their procurement costs by using online trade.'With more than 20 mln SMEs, Europe is a very important market for us,' Wei said.
'And we have decided to invest more in Europe,' he said.
Alibaba.com has about 24 mln registered users, of which 21 mln are on the company's Chinese-language platform, while the rest are registered on its English-language marketplace.
The company focuses mainly on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which aim to lower their procurement costs by using online trade.'With more than 20 mln SMEs, Europe is a very important market for us,' Wei said.
Chinese firms to raise US$100 bln from IPO next year
Dec. 28, 2007(China Knowledge) – Ernst & Young predicated Chinese enterprises will be able to raise up to US$100 billion through initial public offering on stock markets both home and abroad next year in a bid to raise funds for their expansion plans in 2008. Ernst & Young believed that around RMB 330 billion (US$45 billion) will be raised on Shanghai Stock Market in 2008, and HK
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Alibaba management shake-up hints at further spin-offs of units
Thursday, December 27, 2007
0
Alibaba Group's recent senior management reshuffle may signal that the mainland's biggest e-commerce portal is paving the way to spin off other units after the successful listing of Alibaba.com in October, according to market watchers.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Call Suppliers For Free Services From Tradeindia.com
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
0
(1888PressRelease) December 18, 2007 - Reston, VA, USA -- "Call Me Free" will assist online browsers, including manufacturers, buyers and sellers, to obtain real-time answers to questions by connecting them with a customer service representative. To utilize the "Call Me Free" program, shoppers need only engage an embedded click to call button within the Tradeindia.com Web site and type in their phone number.
"As one of India's largest B2B e-Marketplaces, Tradeindia.com serves millions of buyers globally by offering them a quality database of manufacturers and exporters," says Bikky Khosla, CEO, Tradeindia.com. "For buyers, in order to identify a listed manufacturer/exporter as the right potential supplier for their sourcing needs, it's of prime importance to understand and know a few things about the supplier. Popular means of first-level communication such as emails and faxes create a vacuum where a buyer waits for suppliers to get back, which kills valuable business time.
Tradeindia.com's 'Call Me Free' service powered by eStara fills that vacuum, makes first-level communication faster, and allows a buyer to speak with the vendor and get solutions to most queries on the first-level of discussion. 'Call Me Free' helps both buyer and seller understand each others' interest level towards possible business opportunities, which further helps in finalizing the business in the shortest amount of time and with ease," he adds.
The Tradeindia.com partnership also heralds eStara's entry into the Indian market. The company has gained momentum internationally of late, including recently announced deals with Yves-Rocher, a leading botanical beauty care company in France, and Voyages-SNCF, an online travel agency also headquartered in France. Tradeindia.com is the largest online B2B e-Marketplace in India, with over 650,000 registered users, 1,298 different product categories and sub-categories and over 20.5 million hits per month.
"We are very pleased to see eStara's international momentum carry us into new markets," eStara CEO John Federman said. "The phone is a primary component of trade communities around the world and eStara's innovative services place businesses in line to provide a premium service to their customers."
"As one of India's largest B2B e-Marketplaces, Tradeindia.com serves millions of buyers globally by offering them a quality database of manufacturers and exporters," says Bikky Khosla, CEO, Tradeindia.com. "For buyers, in order to identify a listed manufacturer/exporter as the right potential supplier for their sourcing needs, it's of prime importance to understand and know a few things about the supplier. Popular means of first-level communication such as emails and faxes create a vacuum where a buyer waits for suppliers to get back, which kills valuable business time.
Tradeindia.com's 'Call Me Free' service powered by eStara fills that vacuum, makes first-level communication faster, and allows a buyer to speak with the vendor and get solutions to most queries on the first-level of discussion. 'Call Me Free' helps both buyer and seller understand each others' interest level towards possible business opportunities, which further helps in finalizing the business in the shortest amount of time and with ease," he adds.
The Tradeindia.com partnership also heralds eStara's entry into the Indian market. The company has gained momentum internationally of late, including recently announced deals with Yves-Rocher, a leading botanical beauty care company in France, and Voyages-SNCF, an online travel agency also headquartered in France. Tradeindia.com is the largest online B2B e-Marketplace in India, with over 650,000 registered users, 1,298 different product categories and sub-categories and over 20.5 million hits per month.
"We are very pleased to see eStara's international momentum carry us into new markets," eStara CEO John Federman said. "The phone is a primary component of trade communities around the world and eStara's innovative services place businesses in line to provide a premium service to their customers."
Language barrier has Google tongue tied in Beijing
After negotiating the ‘great firewall of China’, the internet’s star brand got lost in translation
By Janet Ong and John Liu
Thursday December 20 2007
Google, the owner of the world's most-popular internet search engine, is struggling to turn its brandname into a verb in China. "G-O-O-G-L-E is not a normal Chinese spelling and people don't pronounce it right," Kai-fu Lee, Google's president for Greater China, said in an interview in Beijing. "Most people call us 'go go'." California-based Google, is so well-known in most countries that the Oxford English Dictionary lists its name as a verb. But it has less than half of Baidu.com's 61pc market share in China.
Lee, recruited from Microsoft in 2005 to expand Google in China, said he would try new advertising strategies to overcome the language barrier. He declined to provide more information. "Very few people know Google and what they stand for" in China, said Charley Kan, managing director of Mediaedge:cia, a unit of WPP Group, the world's second-largest advertising company. "Compared to Baidu, it is in a weak position."
Overtaking
China, the world's second-largest Internet market with 162 million users, may overtake the US in three to five years, according to Oppenheimer & Co analyst Sandeep Aggarwal in San Francisco. Online advertising, the source of 99pc of Google's revenue, may quadruple to 20 billion yuan (€1.8bn) in China in the four years ending 2010, according to Beijing-based Analysis International. Google generated 250 million yuan in search revenue in China last year, Credit Suisse Group estimated in June. That's less than 1pc of the company's total for 2006. Google doesn't disclose sales in individual countries.
Internet addresses in China are based on the Hanyu Pinyin system that translates Chinese characters into roman letters. Sounds such as "gle" don't exist. "That's a big problem for us," Lee said. Google last year acquired the "G.cn" domain so users who misspell the company's name still get directed to its Chinese- language Web site "Guge," or "harvesting song." The adoption of that name in 2006 prompted criticism that it was a song about something going downhill because "gu" also means valley. "It's a name that would appear to have been picked by someone who doesn't know Chinese," said Liu Bin, an analyst at Beijing-based researcher BDA China Ltd. "It hasn't helped their marketing."
Yahoo!, owner of the world's most visited website, is also struggling. Its market share in China slipped to 10pc in the third quarter, from 13pc a year earlier, Analysis said. Yahoo owns 39pc of Alibaba.com, which took control of the US company's China unit in 2005. "We set our sights on the leader. Google is still doing what Google does, but it is not our focus," said Porter Erisman, an Alibaba spokesman in Beijing.
"Our main concern is building a long-term sustainable business," said Mr Erisman. Baidu, meaning "hundreds of times," widened its market- share lead to 61pc from 57pc after offering bulletin boards and an encyclopedia service, according to Analysis estimates. Google's share rose to 24pc from 16pc.
Baidu.com
Beijing-based Baidu's shares have surged 15-fold since their August 2005 initial public offering, valuing the company at about 100 times projected 2008 earnings, estimates compiled by Bloomberg show. Google's stock more than doubled over the same period and trades at 35 times estimated profit. Yahoo trades at a multiple of 48.
"Baidu is a very good company that has been able to meet the needs of the Chinese advertiser and user more effectively than Google," said Walter Price, who owns Baidu and Google shares as part of the $120bn portfolio that he helps steward at RCM Capital Management in San Francisco. Google failed to close the gap with Baidu after providing Web searches for mobile phones and online maps, and buying minority stakes in China's Tianya Internet Technology and Shenzhen Xunlei Network Technology to offer social-networking services.
Lee also faces the challenge of expanding in a country where the government bans criticism of the state. Google's China service already excludes some information censored by the government, such as any material about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, and the subsequent massacre of hundreds of civilians. Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang last month apologised to the mother of Chinese dissident Shi Tao, who was arrested in 2002 after the company gave his e-mail records to Chinese officials.
The arrest prompted the US Foreign Affairs Committee in October to approve a law that outlaws aiding countries in limiting Internet access to restrict human rights. "Google definitely doesn't want the same thing to happen to them that happened to Yahoo," according to Elinor Leung, an analyst at CLSA in Hong Kong.
Faced with such challenges, Google has increased the number of engineers in the Greater China region to 200, its biggest research and development team outside the US, by offering higher salaries and perks such as free massages. The company will begin "some experimentation" for advertising in the next 30 days, Lee said.
"In China, we need to do more. If people don't know Google is a search engine, or if they can't spell Google, they don't know you are better." (Bloomberg)
- Janet Ong and John Liu
By Janet Ong and John Liu
Thursday December 20 2007
Google, the owner of the world's most-popular internet search engine, is struggling to turn its brandname into a verb in China. "G-O-O-G-L-E is not a normal Chinese spelling and people don't pronounce it right," Kai-fu Lee, Google's president for Greater China, said in an interview in Beijing. "Most people call us 'go go'." California-based Google, is so well-known in most countries that the Oxford English Dictionary lists its name as a verb. But it has less than half of Baidu.com's 61pc market share in China.
Lee, recruited from Microsoft in 2005 to expand Google in China, said he would try new advertising strategies to overcome the language barrier. He declined to provide more information. "Very few people know Google and what they stand for" in China, said Charley Kan, managing director of Mediaedge:cia, a unit of WPP Group, the world's second-largest advertising company. "Compared to Baidu, it is in a weak position."
Overtaking
China, the world's second-largest Internet market with 162 million users, may overtake the US in three to five years, according to Oppenheimer & Co analyst Sandeep Aggarwal in San Francisco. Online advertising, the source of 99pc of Google's revenue, may quadruple to 20 billion yuan (€1.8bn) in China in the four years ending 2010, according to Beijing-based Analysis International. Google generated 250 million yuan in search revenue in China last year, Credit Suisse Group estimated in June. That's less than 1pc of the company's total for 2006. Google doesn't disclose sales in individual countries.
Internet addresses in China are based on the Hanyu Pinyin system that translates Chinese characters into roman letters. Sounds such as "gle" don't exist. "That's a big problem for us," Lee said. Google last year acquired the "G.cn" domain so users who misspell the company's name still get directed to its Chinese- language Web site "Guge," or "harvesting song." The adoption of that name in 2006 prompted criticism that it was a song about something going downhill because "gu" also means valley. "It's a name that would appear to have been picked by someone who doesn't know Chinese," said Liu Bin, an analyst at Beijing-based researcher BDA China Ltd. "It hasn't helped their marketing."
Yahoo!, owner of the world's most visited website, is also struggling. Its market share in China slipped to 10pc in the third quarter, from 13pc a year earlier, Analysis said. Yahoo owns 39pc of Alibaba.com, which took control of the US company's China unit in 2005. "We set our sights on the leader. Google is still doing what Google does, but it is not our focus," said Porter Erisman, an Alibaba spokesman in Beijing.
"Our main concern is building a long-term sustainable business," said Mr Erisman. Baidu, meaning "hundreds of times," widened its market- share lead to 61pc from 57pc after offering bulletin boards and an encyclopedia service, according to Analysis estimates. Google's share rose to 24pc from 16pc.
Baidu.com
Beijing-based Baidu's shares have surged 15-fold since their August 2005 initial public offering, valuing the company at about 100 times projected 2008 earnings, estimates compiled by Bloomberg show. Google's stock more than doubled over the same period and trades at 35 times estimated profit. Yahoo trades at a multiple of 48.
"Baidu is a very good company that has been able to meet the needs of the Chinese advertiser and user more effectively than Google," said Walter Price, who owns Baidu and Google shares as part of the $120bn portfolio that he helps steward at RCM Capital Management in San Francisco. Google failed to close the gap with Baidu after providing Web searches for mobile phones and online maps, and buying minority stakes in China's Tianya Internet Technology and Shenzhen Xunlei Network Technology to offer social-networking services.
Lee also faces the challenge of expanding in a country where the government bans criticism of the state. Google's China service already excludes some information censored by the government, such as any material about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, and the subsequent massacre of hundreds of civilians. Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang last month apologised to the mother of Chinese dissident Shi Tao, who was arrested in 2002 after the company gave his e-mail records to Chinese officials.
The arrest prompted the US Foreign Affairs Committee in October to approve a law that outlaws aiding countries in limiting Internet access to restrict human rights. "Google definitely doesn't want the same thing to happen to them that happened to Yahoo," according to Elinor Leung, an analyst at CLSA in Hong Kong.
Faced with such challenges, Google has increased the number of engineers in the Greater China region to 200, its biggest research and development team outside the US, by offering higher salaries and perks such as free massages. The company will begin "some experimentation" for advertising in the next 30 days, Lee said.
"In China, we need to do more. If people don't know Google is a search engine, or if they can't spell Google, they don't know you are better." (Bloomberg)
- Janet Ong and John Liu
Alibaba Launches Japanese Edition
Chinese online e-commerce operator Alibaba has formally launched its Japanese edition, ushering in a new era for sourcing between buyers and sellers in Asia.
Wei Zhe, president of Alibaba's B2B business, says that Alibaba will actively explore the markets of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan and it will enter the Japanese market by setting up an affiliate company in Japan with business partners like SoftBank. Wei says that apart from adding more client service centers in China's domestic market and abroad, Alibaba will focus on attracting more members and it will adopt the agent system in remote areas and regions where the Internet is less popular. Over the past 15 months, Alibaba has opened 15 sales and client service centers in regions including Hong Kong. However, among Alibaba's 25 million registered members, less than 5% are paid users.
Wei Zhe, president of Alibaba's B2B business, says that Alibaba will actively explore the markets of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan and it will enter the Japanese market by setting up an affiliate company in Japan with business partners like SoftBank. Wei says that apart from adding more client service centers in China's domestic market and abroad, Alibaba will focus on attracting more members and it will adopt the agent system in remote areas and regions where the Internet is less popular. Over the past 15 months, Alibaba has opened 15 sales and client service centers in regions including Hong Kong. However, among Alibaba's 25 million registered members, less than 5% are paid users.
Alibaba enables Chinese consumers to buy directly from U.S. retailers
Shanghai. December 21. INTERFAX-CHINA - Alibaba Group's subsidiary Alipay, an independent third-party online payment platform, announced yesterday that it is to cooperate with an American firm to expand the company's service in North America due to demand from Chinese consumers for American-made products.
China's Largest Online Payment Service to Enable Chinese Consumers to Buy Directly From U.S. Retailers
As Millions of Chinese Consumers Flock to Internet to Purchase "Made in America" Products, International Deal Seen as Windfall for U.S. Companies
HANGZHOU, China, and NEW YORK, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move aimed at enabling consumers in Mainland China to buy directly online from North American retailers, Alipay, China's leading independent third-party online payment platform and a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, today announced a cooperation agreement with Philliou Selwanes Partners (PSP), a New York City based consulting and advisory firm. PSP will be the cooperation agency of Alipay to promote the acceptance of this Chinese payment service to North American merchants.
As of November 2007, Alipay had more than 56 million users in China, growing at a rate of more than 80,000 new registered users each day. Alipay's average daily transaction volume exceeds $23 million (USD), handling an average 1,170,000 transactions each day.
Alipay has quickly become the online payment standard in China's fast developing e-commerce sector. According to independent research institute analysis, Alipay is the largest online payment service provider in China with a market share of over 54%. Alipay's growth has both benefited from and contributed to the rapid growth of e-commerce in China.
Mr. Jonathan Lu, President of Alipay, said, "Our mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. Now that Alipay is China's most popular online payment system, it's a natural step for us to expand the service in North America."
According to Mr. Philip J. Philliou, Partner at PSP, "as China has undergone a meteoric economic expansion, the opportunities for U.S. retailers have been limited by our differing payment systems. This alliance agreement removes those barriers and opens up great new potential for North American merchants to add millions of dollars in new sales volume from an untapped marketplace." In the weeks ahead, PSP will be working with the select online merchants and merchant acquirers to integrate Alipay into their payment mix alongside other payment offerings.
To learn more about Alipay and its benefits for the payment system in the US and Canada, please navigate to http://www.philliouselwanes.com/alipay.
About Alipay
Alipay is China's largest independent third-party payment platform, providing customers online payment and settlement service. It enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments online securely, easily and quickly. For more information, visit www.alipay.com.
About Philliou Selwanes Partners (PSP)
PSP is a New York City-based consulting and advisory firm focused on the financial services industry. The firm is a leader in developing new products and payment related strategies for banks, payment networks, insurance companies and retailers worldwide.
China's Largest Online Payment Service to Enable Chinese Consumers to Buy Directly From U.S. Retailers
As Millions of Chinese Consumers Flock to Internet to Purchase "Made in America" Products, International Deal Seen as Windfall for U.S. Companies
HANGZHOU, China, and NEW YORK, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move aimed at enabling consumers in Mainland China to buy directly online from North American retailers, Alipay, China's leading independent third-party online payment platform and a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, today announced a cooperation agreement with Philliou Selwanes Partners (PSP), a New York City based consulting and advisory firm. PSP will be the cooperation agency of Alipay to promote the acceptance of this Chinese payment service to North American merchants.
As of November 2007, Alipay had more than 56 million users in China, growing at a rate of more than 80,000 new registered users each day. Alipay's average daily transaction volume exceeds $23 million (USD), handling an average 1,170,000 transactions each day.
Alipay has quickly become the online payment standard in China's fast developing e-commerce sector. According to independent research institute analysis, Alipay is the largest online payment service provider in China with a market share of over 54%. Alipay's growth has both benefited from and contributed to the rapid growth of e-commerce in China.
Mr. Jonathan Lu, President of Alipay, said, "Our mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. Now that Alipay is China's most popular online payment system, it's a natural step for us to expand the service in North America."
According to Mr. Philip J. Philliou, Partner at PSP, "as China has undergone a meteoric economic expansion, the opportunities for U.S. retailers have been limited by our differing payment systems. This alliance agreement removes those barriers and opens up great new potential for North American merchants to add millions of dollars in new sales volume from an untapped marketplace." In the weeks ahead, PSP will be working with the select online merchants and merchant acquirers to integrate Alipay into their payment mix alongside other payment offerings.
To learn more about Alipay and its benefits for the payment system in the US and Canada, please navigate to http://www.philliouselwanes.com/alipay.
About Alipay
Alipay is China's largest independent third-party payment platform, providing customers online payment and settlement service. It enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments online securely, easily and quickly. For more information, visit www.alipay.com.
About Philliou Selwanes Partners (PSP)
PSP is a New York City-based consulting and advisory firm focused on the financial services industry. The firm is a leader in developing new products and payment related strategies for banks, payment networks, insurance companies and retailers worldwide.
Alibaba Launches Japanese Edition
Chinese online e-commerce operator Alibaba has formally launched its Japanese edition, ushering in a new era for sourcing between buyers and sellers in Asia.
Wei Zhe, president of Alibaba's B2B business, says that Alibaba will actively explore the markets of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan and it will enter the Japanese market by setting up an affiliate company in Japan with business partners like SoftBank. Wei says that apart from adding more client service centers in China's domestic market and abroad, Alibaba will focus on attracting more members and it will adopt the agent system in remote areas and regions where the Internet is less popular. Over the past 15 months, Alibaba has opened 15 sales and client service centers in regions including Hong Kong. However, among Alibaba's 25 million registered members, less than 5% are paid users.
Wei Zhe, president of Alibaba's B2B business, says that Alibaba will actively explore the markets of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan and it will enter the Japanese market by setting up an affiliate company in Japan with business partners like SoftBank. Wei says that apart from adding more client service centers in China's domestic market and abroad, Alibaba will focus on attracting more members and it will adopt the agent system in remote areas and regions where the Internet is less popular. Over the past 15 months, Alibaba has opened 15 sales and client service centers in regions including Hong Kong. However, among Alibaba's 25 million registered members, less than 5% are paid users.
How I Did It: Jack Ma, Alibaba.com
The unlikely rise of China's hottest internet tycoon.
As told to Rebecca Fannin - Inc.com
Jack Ma hit pay dirt when his Chinese business-to-business start-up, Alibaba.com, went public, in November. The offering raised more than $1.5 billion and gave the company a valuation of $26 billion. Ma, 43, grew up during China's Cultural Revolution. He taught himself English, then caught the Internet wave as China's economy opened in the 1990s. Today, Alibaba is China's largest B2B site and a favorite among American and European companies that are buying from Chinese suppliers. The site earned $39 million on revenue of $129 million in the first half of 2007. Ma has also taken Alibaba into search, through a joint venture with Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO), and his Taobao online auction site has become bigger than eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) in China.
When I was 12 years old, I got interested in learning English. I rode my bike for 40 minutes every morning, rain or snow, for eight years to a hotel near the city of Hangzhou's West Lake district, about 100 miles southwest of Shanghai. China was opening up, and a lot of foreign tourists went there. I showed them around as a free guide and practiced my English. Those eight years deeply changed me. I started to become more globalized than most Chinese. What I learned from my teachers and books was different from what the foreign visitors told us.
The other event that fundamentally changed me was in 1979, when I met a family with two kids from Australia. We met and spent three days together and played Frisbee. We became pen pals. In 1985 they invited me to go to Australia for a summer vacation. I went in July, and those 31 days changed my life. Before I left China, I was educated that China was the richest, happiest country in the world. So when I arrived in Australia, I thought, Oh, my God, everything is different from what I was told. Since then, I started to think differently.
I flunked my exam for university two times before I was accepted by what was considered my city's worst university, Hangzhou Teachers University. I was studying to be a high school English teacher. In my university, I was elected student chairman and later became chairman of the city's Students Federation.
When I graduated, I was the only one of 500 students assigned to teach at a university. My pay was 100 to 120 renminbi, which is like $12 to $15 per month. I always had a dream that when I finished my five years, I would join a business--a hotel or whatever. I just wanted to go do something. In 1992, the business environment started improving. I applied for a lot of jobs, but nobody wanted me! I was turned down for secretary to the general manager of a Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Then, in 1995, I went to Seattle as an interpreter for a trade delegation. A friend showed me the Internet there for the first time. We searched the word beer on Yahoo and discovered that there was no data about China. We decided to launch a website and registered the name China Pages.
I borrowed $2,000 to set up the company. I knew nothing about personal computers or e-mails. I had never touched a keyboard before that. That's why I call myself "blind man riding on the back of a blind tiger."
We competed with China Telecom for about a year. The general manager of China Telecom offered to invest $185,000 to do a joint venture. It was the most money I had ever seen in my life. But unfortunately, China Telecom (NYSE:CHA) got five board seats. I got two board seats. Everything we suggested, they turned us down. It was like an elephant and an ant. I resigned. Then, I got an offer to come to Beijing and run a new government group to promote e-commerce.
My dream was to set up my own e-commerce company. In 1999, I gathered 18 people in my apartment and spoke to them for two hours about my vision. Everyone put their money on the table, and that got us $60,000 to start Alibaba. I wanted to have a global company, so I chose a global name. Alibaba is easy to spell, and people everywhere associate that with "Open, Sesame," the command that Ali Baba used to open doors to hidden treasures in One Thousand and One Nights.
There were three reasons why we survived. We had no money, we had no technology, and we had no plan. Every dollar, we used very carefully. The office opened in my apartment. We expanded when we raised money from Goldman Sachs in 1999 and then Softbank Corporation in 2000.
We're in China today because I believe in one thing: global vision, local win. We designed the business model ourselves. Our focus is on helping small and medium-size companies make money. We never copied a model from the U.S., like a lot of Chinese Internet entrepreneurs did. We focused on product quality. It has to be "click and get it." If I can't get it, then it's rubbish.
I call Alibaba "1,001 mistakes." We expanded too fast, and then in the dot-com bubble, we had to have layoffs. By 2002, we had only enough cash to survive for 18 months. We had a lot of free members using our site, and we didn't know how we'd make money. So we developed a product for China exporters to meet U.S. buyers online. This model saved us. By the end of 2002, we made $1 in profits. Each year we improved. Today, Alibaba is very profitable.
The lessons I learned from the dark days at Alibaba are that you've got to make your team have value, innovation, and vision. Also, if you don't give up, you still have a chance. And, when you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength.
Going public is an important milestone for Alibaba. The time was right. Our B2B company is established, market conditions are healthy, and management is strong. The reception proved a mainland Chinese company can list in Hong Kong and still get a very strong valuation and global investor interest.
My vision is to build an e-commerce ecosystem that allows consumers and businesses to do all aspects of business online. We are going into search with Yahoo and have launched online auction and payment businesses. I want to create one million jobs, change China's social and economic environment, and make it the largest Internet market in the world.I'm just a purist. What is important in my life is that I can do something that can influence many people and influence China's development. When I am myself, I am relaxed and happy and have a good result.
As told to Rebecca Fannin - Inc.com
Jack Ma hit pay dirt when his Chinese business-to-business start-up, Alibaba.com, went public, in November. The offering raised more than $1.5 billion and gave the company a valuation of $26 billion. Ma, 43, grew up during China's Cultural Revolution. He taught himself English, then caught the Internet wave as China's economy opened in the 1990s. Today, Alibaba is China's largest B2B site and a favorite among American and European companies that are buying from Chinese suppliers. The site earned $39 million on revenue of $129 million in the first half of 2007. Ma has also taken Alibaba into search, through a joint venture with Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO), and his Taobao online auction site has become bigger than eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) in China.
When I was 12 years old, I got interested in learning English. I rode my bike for 40 minutes every morning, rain or snow, for eight years to a hotel near the city of Hangzhou's West Lake district, about 100 miles southwest of Shanghai. China was opening up, and a lot of foreign tourists went there. I showed them around as a free guide and practiced my English. Those eight years deeply changed me. I started to become more globalized than most Chinese. What I learned from my teachers and books was different from what the foreign visitors told us.
The other event that fundamentally changed me was in 1979, when I met a family with two kids from Australia. We met and spent three days together and played Frisbee. We became pen pals. In 1985 they invited me to go to Australia for a summer vacation. I went in July, and those 31 days changed my life. Before I left China, I was educated that China was the richest, happiest country in the world. So when I arrived in Australia, I thought, Oh, my God, everything is different from what I was told. Since then, I started to think differently.
I flunked my exam for university two times before I was accepted by what was considered my city's worst university, Hangzhou Teachers University. I was studying to be a high school English teacher. In my university, I was elected student chairman and later became chairman of the city's Students Federation.
When I graduated, I was the only one of 500 students assigned to teach at a university. My pay was 100 to 120 renminbi, which is like $12 to $15 per month. I always had a dream that when I finished my five years, I would join a business--a hotel or whatever. I just wanted to go do something. In 1992, the business environment started improving. I applied for a lot of jobs, but nobody wanted me! I was turned down for secretary to the general manager of a Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Then, in 1995, I went to Seattle as an interpreter for a trade delegation. A friend showed me the Internet there for the first time. We searched the word beer on Yahoo and discovered that there was no data about China. We decided to launch a website and registered the name China Pages.
I borrowed $2,000 to set up the company. I knew nothing about personal computers or e-mails. I had never touched a keyboard before that. That's why I call myself "blind man riding on the back of a blind tiger."
We competed with China Telecom for about a year. The general manager of China Telecom offered to invest $185,000 to do a joint venture. It was the most money I had ever seen in my life. But unfortunately, China Telecom (NYSE:CHA) got five board seats. I got two board seats. Everything we suggested, they turned us down. It was like an elephant and an ant. I resigned. Then, I got an offer to come to Beijing and run a new government group to promote e-commerce.
My dream was to set up my own e-commerce company. In 1999, I gathered 18 people in my apartment and spoke to them for two hours about my vision. Everyone put their money on the table, and that got us $60,000 to start Alibaba. I wanted to have a global company, so I chose a global name. Alibaba is easy to spell, and people everywhere associate that with "Open, Sesame," the command that Ali Baba used to open doors to hidden treasures in One Thousand and One Nights.
There were three reasons why we survived. We had no money, we had no technology, and we had no plan. Every dollar, we used very carefully. The office opened in my apartment. We expanded when we raised money from Goldman Sachs in 1999 and then Softbank Corporation in 2000.
We're in China today because I believe in one thing: global vision, local win. We designed the business model ourselves. Our focus is on helping small and medium-size companies make money. We never copied a model from the U.S., like a lot of Chinese Internet entrepreneurs did. We focused on product quality. It has to be "click and get it." If I can't get it, then it's rubbish.
I call Alibaba "1,001 mistakes." We expanded too fast, and then in the dot-com bubble, we had to have layoffs. By 2002, we had only enough cash to survive for 18 months. We had a lot of free members using our site, and we didn't know how we'd make money. So we developed a product for China exporters to meet U.S. buyers online. This model saved us. By the end of 2002, we made $1 in profits. Each year we improved. Today, Alibaba is very profitable.
The lessons I learned from the dark days at Alibaba are that you've got to make your team have value, innovation, and vision. Also, if you don't give up, you still have a chance. And, when you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength.
Going public is an important milestone for Alibaba. The time was right. Our B2B company is established, market conditions are healthy, and management is strong. The reception proved a mainland Chinese company can list in Hong Kong and still get a very strong valuation and global investor interest.
My vision is to build an e-commerce ecosystem that allows consumers and businesses to do all aspects of business online. We are going into search with Yahoo and have launched online auction and payment businesses. I want to create one million jobs, change China's social and economic environment, and make it the largest Internet market in the world.I'm just a purist. What is important in my life is that I can do something that can influence many people and influence China's development. When I am myself, I am relaxed and happy and have a good result.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Alibaba (1688.HK) December Update
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
0
Hangzhou-based Alibaba Group's business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce subsidiary Alibaba.com Ltd. (1688.HK) began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's main board on November 6. The shares debuted at HK$30 and ended the day at HK$39.50, up substantially from its initial public offering price. JLM Pacific Epoch surveyed 1,000 Gold Suppliers in the first two weeks of December to get a better understanding of customer satisfaction, spending, discounts, and other trends in China's rapidly growing B2B marketplace.
Alibaba.com Brings Sesame Magic to India
[18-Dec-2007] Alibaba.com, the leading online marketplace for international trade, hosted its first Open Sesame event in India on 14 December. Held at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel on the sidelines of The 5th China Products Exhibition, the event was an opportunity for Alibaba.com’s Indian members to get together and share their experiences in international trade and e-commerce. With about 300,000 registered users, India is one of Alibaba.com’s most important markets worldwide and the biggest in Asia for its international marketplace. It recently launched a new India channel (www.alibaba.com/countrysearch/IN/India.html) which provides an easy and efficient platform for international buyers to source from India. The available video includes shots of the event and testimonials from Alibaba.com’s Indian members.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Alibaba.com Eyes India…But No Plans Yet For Acquisitions Or Even An Office Here
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
0
Alibaba.com, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed B2B arm of the Alibaba group of companies is eying India as a priority market. The company claims to have a customer base of 340,000 from India, and is targeting around 600,000 by the end of next year. However, there are no immediate plans for acquisitions or even setting up an office in India, Brian A Wong, Sr. Director (International Business Development & Marketing) told PTI, though the story does mention “the roll-out of its aggressive expansion programme in India”. Alibaba.in appears to be taken...Nevertheless, this should be good competition for eBay India, which has recently launched an advertising campaign on TV.
Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) owns 39 percent of the Alibaba Group, and had purchased a direct 1 percent stake in Alibaba.com, spending $100 million for 57.5 million shares, at $1.74 per share.
Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) owns 39 percent of the Alibaba Group, and had purchased a direct 1 percent stake in Alibaba.com, spending $100 million for 57.5 million shares, at $1.74 per share.
Aliaba.com Scam
How many of you out here have heard of Alibaba and the forty thieves? Well, my first experiences of being scammed came from none other than Alibaba.com. I am not saying that it was Alibaba.com who scammed me, but it was through Alibaba.com that i was "robbed".
Because of Alibaba.com's loose regulation on counterfeit or scammers, the "Thieves" in Alibaba.com are able to post themself as being "GOLD Suppliers" or, "TrustPass" members.
According to Alibaba.com's TrustPass, "TrustPass® serves to provide transparency regarding the identity and legitimacy of your trading partners on Alibaba.com. Only companies that have completed an Authentication and Verification procedure conducted by a third-party credit-reporting agency have a TrustPass Profile."
It is indeed important to be passed off as trust worthy when a company completes the Authentication and Verification procedure. But what about maintaining that status for good? What about keeping track that the companies are abiding to the policy and are still worthy or the TrustPass? Is that not important too?
If you log into Alibaba.com, one may find that there are many forums created to express the fact that members of TrustPass are not quite worthy of that status anymore. Whether it be selling knock-offs or just simply not sending the item after receiving the money, many out there have fallen to this trap.
Click here to read on a Forbes.com article on this matter and how it relates to Yahoo!
Because of Alibaba.com's loose regulation on counterfeit or scammers, the "Thieves" in Alibaba.com are able to post themself as being "GOLD Suppliers" or, "TrustPass" members.
According to Alibaba.com's TrustPass, "TrustPass® serves to provide transparency regarding the identity and legitimacy of your trading partners on Alibaba.com. Only companies that have completed an Authentication and Verification procedure conducted by a third-party credit-reporting agency have a TrustPass Profile."
It is indeed important to be passed off as trust worthy when a company completes the Authentication and Verification procedure. But what about maintaining that status for good? What about keeping track that the companies are abiding to the policy and are still worthy or the TrustPass? Is that not important too?
If you log into Alibaba.com, one may find that there are many forums created to express the fact that members of TrustPass are not quite worthy of that status anymore. Whether it be selling knock-offs or just simply not sending the item after receiving the money, many out there have fallen to this trap.
Click here to read on a Forbes.com article on this matter and how it relates to Yahoo!
Alibaba targets India
Interesting piece over the WSJ/Hindustan Times MINT site about Alibaba's ambitions for India. Brian Wong is quoted as saying that they currently have 340,000 users in India and expect to double that figure by the end of 2008. However, he told Indian journalists:
“Depending on the response, we will decide on the opening of our offices or acquisitions in India. However, we don’t have any immediate plans of the kind,” Wong said.Hmm. Sounds a bit tentative doesn't it? He also noted:
“Around 60% of the overall IPO funds will be used for strategic acquisitions and business development globally, as also for acquisition of technologies,” he said.
We wait with bated breath. There ain't the makings of a plan worth US$17 billion (today's market cap) in those quotes.
Update: Interesting that no sooner have I read this than I find another household name, and arguably the kings of global sourcing, looking to double its activity in India. Fons points to a piece about Li & Fung which currently does 6% of its business in India.
Alibaba's Koubei Partners With McDonald's For Cheaper Fast Food
Alibaba consumer information portal Koubei has partnered with McDonald's to release McDonald's e-coupons, reports Sina. Users can download the value meal coupons via handset from the McDonald's discount channel on Koubei's WAP site wap.koubei.com. Koubei has nearly five million registered members and access to the 40 million members of Alibaba's consumer-to-consumer (C2C) site Taobao.com, according to the report. Taobao partnered with McDonald's for a cross-promotion in September.
Alibaba to expand in India
eBay India gets a serious competition - China based Alibaba.com is set to expand aggressively in India.
Alibaba recently raised $1.7 billion via IPO and plans to use ~60% of the fund raised for strategic acquisitions and global expansion.
Alibaba India currently has 340,000 suppliers and is looking to double the number by end of ‘08.
As far as the market is concerned, the Indian e-commerce market is pegged to touch Rs. 9210 crore by end of 2008 and Alibaba is looking for a bigger share of the pie.
eBay India has done fairly well till now and the site receives 2.5 million unique visitors and 30 million page views per month. eBay’s strategy, now is to target the long tail of sellers.Apart from launching TV ads, eBay India recently opened up it’s site for graphical ads for advertisers and has launched online coupons that can be redeemed.
It’d be interesting to see startups (which focus on local deals) like offersforshoppers (which is undergoing site revamp) and mkhoj play in this market.
Alibaba recently raised $1.7 billion via IPO and plans to use ~60% of the fund raised for strategic acquisitions and global expansion.
Alibaba India currently has 340,000 suppliers and is looking to double the number by end of ‘08.
As far as the market is concerned, the Indian e-commerce market is pegged to touch Rs. 9210 crore by end of 2008 and Alibaba is looking for a bigger share of the pie.
eBay India has done fairly well till now and the site receives 2.5 million unique visitors and 30 million page views per month. eBay’s strategy, now is to target the long tail of sellers.Apart from launching TV ads, eBay India recently opened up it’s site for graphical ads for advertisers and has launched online coupons that can be redeemed.
It’d be interesting to see startups (which focus on local deals) like offersforshoppers (which is undergoing site revamp) and mkhoj play in this market.
Over 10,000 Buyers Pre-registered for New China Sourcing Fairs: Baby & Children's Products and Fashion Accessories in Shanghai
Product Safety First: Fairs to Feature Free Seminars on Quality Control and Design Requirements of Children's Products
December 12, 2007: 01:00 AM EST
SHANGHAI, China, Dec. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Over 10,000 buyers, including global players such as Coles Myer, Gap, H & M, Li & Fung, Sears, Target and Tommy Hilfiger, have pre-registered to attend Global Sources' first China Sourcing Fairs: Baby & Children's Products and Fashion Accessories in Shanghai ( http://www.chinasourcingfair.com ). Domestic buyers including Hua Lian GMS Shopping Centre, Ren Ren Le Group and TVSN have also signed up to attend the inaugural shows, set for Dec. 12-14, 2007 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre, China. Visitors will be able to see 440 booths from various countries and regions including mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines and India.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030303/LNM011LOGO-b )
Global Sources' Executive Director, Sarah Benecke, said: "We're returning to Shanghai after two years to meet the growing demand for China suppliers, from both international and domestic buyers. The Fairs will provide a focus for quality suppliers to meet directly with local buyers, as well as the hundreds of international buying organizations, which have offices in this dynamic city. Suppliers can also sell direct to global visitors who come to Shanghai to source from Asia."
As well as providing a face-to-face business platform for buyers and suppliers, the Shanghai Fairs will feature free seminars on quality control.
Benecke said: "We have invited quality control experts Bureau Veritas to provide critical information for both manufacturers and buyers who make decisions on the design of children's products. This is part of Global Sources' objective to provide the most relevant and topical information on quality issues to our customers, so that we continue to attract the best buyers and suppliers in the business."
With a growing customer focus on the health and safety of imported products, Bureau Veritas will also present information on the costume jewelry testing requirements of the US and European markets.
Market Potential is Enormous in Shanghai and Worldwide
Shanghai is fast emerging as mainland China's sourcing capital for consumer products. There are over 330 multinational buying offices based in Shanghai, plus more than 3,000 buying offices serving the needs of the booming domestic market.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, over 16 million babies were born in mainland China in 2006. And with 27 percent of mainland China's population of 1.3 billion being under 14 years of age, there is a huge need for baby and children's products.
Mainland China-made fashion accessories are in demand throughout the world. The China Customs Database indicates that in 2006, mainland China's exports of fashion jewelry increased by 25 percent to US$6.9 billion. Mainland China is the largest producing and exporting country for shoes in the world. In the first half of 2007, China exported 4.4 billion pairs of shoes, a year-on-year growth of 12%, valued at US$12 billion.
China Sourcing Fair: Baby & Children's Products and Fashion Accessories Dates, Times and Future Events
The Shanghai Fairs will open Dec. 12-14 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Currently, a pavilion within China Sourcing Fair: Gifts & Home Products, Baby & Children's Products is scheduled to expand and launch under its own brand in Hong Kong on Apr. 20-23 and Oct. 20-23, 2008 at AsiaWorld-Expo.
In 2008, the Fashion Accessories event is scheduled to take place five times.
"We're extending our successful China Sourcing Fair: Fashion Accessories brand around the world -- taking it to where the volume buyers are located," Benecke said: "As well as our April and October events in Hong Kong, the Fair is also scheduled for June 2008 in Dubai and twice in mainland China next year."
Show to Feature Fashion Parades and Free Personalized Advice for Buyers Value-added services at the show include:
- Fashion Parades showcasing the latest trends will be a daily feature at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
- Country and Regional Pavilions focus on products from Asia and emerging mainland China supply centers.
- Ask the Expert Program offers free personalized, professional advice to buyers' import questions. It is a unique new service of one-on-one consultations with industry specialists.
- Special Buyers' Lounges offer free Internet access, refreshments and sourcing information.
Discount Travel Rates Available
Special hotel rates are available through China Sourcing Fair travel partners listed at http://www.chinasourcingfair.com . Buyers who pre-register are also entitled to receive free admission, a free Show Guide and Venue Maps.
About Global Sources
Global Sources is a leading business-to-business (B2B) media company and a primary facilitator of two-way trade with Greater China. The core business is facilitating trade from Greater China to the world, using a wide range of English-language media. The other key business segment facilitates trade from the world to Greater China using Chinese-language media.
The company provides sourcing information to volume buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers. It helps a community of over 647,000 active buyers source more profitably from complex overseas supply markets. With the goal of providing the most effective ways possible to advertise, market and sell, Global Sources enables suppliers to sell to hard-to-reach buyers in over 230 countries.
The company offers the most extensive range of media and export marketing services in the industries it serves. It delivers information on 2 million products and more than 160,000 suppliers annually through 14 online marketplaces, 13 monthly magazines, over 100 sourcing research reports and nine specialized trade shows which run 22 times a year across seven cities.
Suppliers receive more than 23 million sales leads annually from buyers through Global Sources Online ( http://www.globalsources.com ) alone.
Global Sources has been facilitating global trade for 36 years. In mainland China it has over 2,000 team members in 44 locations, and a community of over 1 million registered online users and magazine readers for Chinese-language media.
International and Domestic Franchise Opportunities at Franchising China Exhibition
2007-12-13
PRNewswire
HONG KONG, Dec. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Global Sources' 10th Annual Franchising China Conference & Exhibition ( http://www.franchisechina.com/ ) wrapped up its tour of China recently, attracting 24,274 potential franchisees to its exhibitions in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing -- up 12 percent from 2006.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030303/LNM011LOGO-b )
One exhibitor, Ines Vedovelli, president of Gustomenta, a Beijing-based Italian gelato franchisor, said: "The visitors are really interested in franchising. They're not just coming to gather information. We went to a franchising show two weeks ago and it was a completely different situation. This show is much better."
Around 100 international and local franchisors exhibited at Franchising China, offering business opportunities in retail, education, hotels, laundry services, food & beverage, beauty & health, automotive, business services and furniture/home products.
Hotel franchisors were notably popular at this year's event, thanks to the growing demand in China for affordable business and leisure accommodations. Five key players exhibited at the show, including international brands Super 8 and Holiday Inn Express, and domestic brands Greentree Inns, Home Inn and JinJiang Inn.
Jin Zhibo, General Manager of Greentree Inns, said: "We've gotten a lot of benefit from this show -- not just in terms of meeting customers -- but also in building awareness for our brand. As an exhibitor for the last six years, I can say that the quality of brands exhibiting at this year's show was very high."
Other well-known exhibitors at the show included international franchisors Subway, Baja Fresh, Gloria Jean's Coffee, Bread Talk, Bob Jane T-Marts, Athlete's Foot, Office 1 and Meyer Cookware, and leading China brands Vanke, Iceason (Bright Food Group), ILSA Laundry, DIO Coffee and Tayohya.
The Franchising China Conference & Exhibition is scheduled to host its 11th annual show in November 2008, with many exhibitors have already re-booked booth space for the event.
Further reports about the show are scheduled to be released on the Franchising China website at http://www.franchisechina.com/ . Franchisors interested in exhibiting at the 2008 event should contact jge@globalsources.com.
PRNewswire
HONG KONG, Dec. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Global Sources' 10th Annual Franchising China Conference & Exhibition ( http://www.franchisechina.com/ ) wrapped up its tour of China recently, attracting 24,274 potential franchisees to its exhibitions in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing -- up 12 percent from 2006.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030303/LNM011LOGO-b )
One exhibitor, Ines Vedovelli, president of Gustomenta, a Beijing-based Italian gelato franchisor, said: "The visitors are really interested in franchising. They're not just coming to gather information. We went to a franchising show two weeks ago and it was a completely different situation. This show is much better."
Around 100 international and local franchisors exhibited at Franchising China, offering business opportunities in retail, education, hotels, laundry services, food & beverage, beauty & health, automotive, business services and furniture/home products.
Hotel franchisors were notably popular at this year's event, thanks to the growing demand in China for affordable business and leisure accommodations. Five key players exhibited at the show, including international brands Super 8 and Holiday Inn Express, and domestic brands Greentree Inns, Home Inn and JinJiang Inn.
Jin Zhibo, General Manager of Greentree Inns, said: "We've gotten a lot of benefit from this show -- not just in terms of meeting customers -- but also in building awareness for our brand. As an exhibitor for the last six years, I can say that the quality of brands exhibiting at this year's show was very high."
Other well-known exhibitors at the show included international franchisors Subway, Baja Fresh, Gloria Jean's Coffee, Bread Talk, Bob Jane T-Marts, Athlete's Foot, Office 1 and Meyer Cookware, and leading China brands Vanke, Iceason (Bright Food Group), ILSA Laundry, DIO Coffee and Tayohya.
The Franchising China Conference & Exhibition is scheduled to host its 11th annual show in November 2008, with many exhibitors have already re-booked booth space for the event.
Further reports about the show are scheduled to be released on the Franchising China website at http://www.franchisechina.com/ . Franchisors interested in exhibiting at the 2008 event should contact jge@globalsources.com.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Alibaba Releases Corporate Social Responsibility Report
Saturday, December 15, 2007
0
December 7, 2007
Chinese e-commerce service provider Alibaba has released a social responsibility report will set up a special social responsibility department to promote the development of the social responsibility management system within the company.
In the meantime, Jin Jiankang, senior vice president of Alibaba, unveiled Alibaba's core development strategy to the public, which says that the company's core strategy is to build e-commerce infrastructure and foster an open, cooperative and prosperous e-commerce ecosystem. Jin says that social responsibility is one of the major indices that Alibaba will use to review the performance of its subsidiaries and the company's various business patterns will be fixed based on social responsibility.
Speaking of the Alibaba's social responsibility practice, Jin believes that Alibaba has made two major contributions to the society. One is that it has established a credible online business system and the other is that it has empowered millions of businesspeople to carry out e-commerce business and made them into one important economic force in China.
The company says it believes that social responsibility should not be an empty concept, nor should it be limited to charity or donations. Instead it should be closely related to a company's value concepts, human resources and business patterns.
Chinese e-commerce service provider Alibaba has released a social responsibility report will set up a special social responsibility department to promote the development of the social responsibility management system within the company.
In the meantime, Jin Jiankang, senior vice president of Alibaba, unveiled Alibaba's core development strategy to the public, which says that the company's core strategy is to build e-commerce infrastructure and foster an open, cooperative and prosperous e-commerce ecosystem. Jin says that social responsibility is one of the major indices that Alibaba will use to review the performance of its subsidiaries and the company's various business patterns will be fixed based on social responsibility.
Speaking of the Alibaba's social responsibility practice, Jin believes that Alibaba has made two major contributions to the society. One is that it has established a credible online business system and the other is that it has empowered millions of businesspeople to carry out e-commerce business and made them into one important economic force in China.
The company says it believes that social responsibility should not be an empty concept, nor should it be limited to charity or donations. Instead it should be closely related to a company's value concepts, human resources and business patterns.
GE Becomes Alibaba.com Partner
The two formed a strategic partnership on December 11, 2007.
Alibaba.com debuted on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong on November 6. As an excellent B2B e-commerce company, it sets up reliable and highly-efficient trading platform for buyers and sellers around China and the world. They are mostly small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from various industries and may be potential clients of GE, remarked the president of GE Consumer & Industrial Greater China Region.
Besides marketing, GE will continue its cooperation in global procurement with Alibaba.com in 2008. Last year, other tycoons like Samsung, Toshiba, IKEA, and Haier Group have also begun purchasing goods via Alibaba.com, which owns 24.6 million SME registered users from more than 30 industries.
Global giants in the information industry such as Intel, Microsoft Corporation, and Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO, SEHK: 4333) have become strategic partners of Alibaba.com in succession as well.
High Tech Alibaba relies on low tech door-to-door sales channels
Great SF Chronicle article about Alibaba, the largest internet company in China, best known for their web service that connects manufacturers from China with customers around the world.
Do you know how they get manufacturers in middle-of-nowhere China aboard and online?"Beneath its high-tech sheen, the success of Alibaba.com relies on the old-fashioned shoe leather method of door-to-door salesmen. The company employs an army of foot soldiers stationed throughout China and other parts of the globe who call on local businesses and teach their owners how to upload product photos, manage customer inquiries and maintain their online presence.
Because labor in China is cheap, Alibaba.com can afford to deploy a field sales staff of about 1,900 people to recruit new factories to join the Internet revolution." Maybe its old-fashioned and low tech but it works in China. The recipe to China isnt just about high technology, its the local understanding of the market and being able to be there at the right time to seize the opportunity like Alibaba.
Do you know how they get manufacturers in middle-of-nowhere China aboard and online?"Beneath its high-tech sheen, the success of Alibaba.com relies on the old-fashioned shoe leather method of door-to-door salesmen. The company employs an army of foot soldiers stationed throughout China and other parts of the globe who call on local businesses and teach their owners how to upload product photos, manage customer inquiries and maintain their online presence.
Because labor in China is cheap, Alibaba.com can afford to deploy a field sales staff of about 1,900 people to recruit new factories to join the Internet revolution." Maybe its old-fashioned and low tech but it works in China. The recipe to China isnt just about high technology, its the local understanding of the market and being able to be there at the right time to seize the opportunity like Alibaba.
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