Alibaba Launches E-Commerce Aid Program

On October 15, Jack Ma, CEO of e-commerce firm the Alibaba Group, launched the "10,000 Enterprises E-Commerce Project" for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The project will help SMEs in Zhejiang province withstand the current global financial crisis. As part of the project the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Finance will provide RMB 30 mln in support to member companies, and Alibaba will provide RMB 300 mln in e-commerce services. In addition the Economic and Trade Commission of Zhejiang Province, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Finance and Alibaba will help 100,000 Zhejiang businesses adopt e-commerce technology. Wei Zhe, the CEO of the group's publicly listed subsidiary, Alibaba (1688.HK), has revealed that in addition to Zhejiang, similar projects will be launched in Guangdong, Chongqing, Tianjin and other areas, with some having already received support from local governments.