Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba group is eyeing expansion into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region and will invest more in near future.
Jack Ma, the founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group, was quoted saying that he saw ASEAN as the most promising and most dynamic region in the world economy at the opening ceremony of the 13th China-ASEAN Expo. He further said China-ASEAN relationship is one of world’s most important economic partnerships and that Alibaba will expand investment and business development in the ASEAN region.
Co-sponsored by the Chinese government and 10 ASEAN member states, including Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, the expo highlights industrial cooperation, trade and investment among China, ASEAN members and other countries. The four-day event witnessed participation of more than 2,500 companies from 29 countries.
The world today has two main opportunities – technological revolution and further globalisation, both of which will help developing countries grow in leaps and bounds. I believe e-commerce, fuelled by the ASEAN economy, will play an important role.
said Jack.
Alibaba claims to have about one million registered ASEAN suppliers trading with China on one of their platforms. The e-commerce giant has been showing its interest in the region for a while. AliCloud, a subsidiary of Alibaba, has built data centers in Singapore to offer computing services to small and medium-sized enterprises in the region. It is also going to cooperate with Thailand in this respect to help the country’s SMEs grow.
ASEAN is in the centre of Western and Eastern culture. Neither the Western world nor the Eastern world will win in the future. It’s the integration of West with East. He called for a just, free, and transparent trade system so that at least one third of the world’s small and medium enterprises and youth have strong opportunities for tomorrow.
Jack further added.
