Softbank, Alibaba announce new B2B service

TOKYO (AFP) — Japanese Internet giant Softbank and Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba said Tuesday they would launch a business-to-business service to link Japanese firms with potential customers in China.

Alibaba chief executive Jack Ma said at a joint press conference with Softbank president Masayoshi Son that China, which now serves as a global production hub, promised to be a huge consumer market in a decade.

"This is a really important strategic movement," he said.

Alibaba already brings together some 50,000 suppliers in China with wholesale buyers in Japan. The new service is aimed at providing Japanese goods to Chinese wholesalers.

"I think the potential is big," Ma said.

The service will initially ask its customers to use existing financial and legal transaction systems when importing goods and to file the necessary documents with authorities, Son said.

"We are trying to build a new system so that financial and legal transactions can be made online," Son said.
Ma said he also wished to create a system in the near future to allow Chinese consumers to purchase Japanese goods through a new e-commerce scheme.