Fujian Government to Subsidize Alibaba Services

The Economic and Trade Commission of Fujian Province has signed an agreement with Chinese B2B e-commerce firm Alibaba (1688.HK) to cooperate on a project named "Qianwan" (literally "Must Do") designed to promote the use of e-commerce by Fujian enterprises. The project will be launched province-wide on January 1, 2009, and will focus primarily on the following goals: the creation of an e-commerce community run by Alibaba that encompasses the majority of Fujian's small and medium enterprises (SMEs); the development of a comprehensive province-wide B2B e-commerce platform; the promotion of Fujian brand names in 240 countries and regions around the world.

Fujian province has set aside RMB 10 mln in funds to support the project. The funds will be used to support the use of Alibaba's services such as TrustPass and "China Supplier Chukoutong" (unofficial translation: Export Expert). Once the two parties have established the cooperation, enterprises in Fujian will be able to apply to obtain unsecured low-interest loans (in comparison to lending rates for personal loans) from Alibaba's credit network platform.