Jack Ma, Chairman of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA), will be visiting New York and Chicago this week.
Mr. Ma told the Economic Club of New York “We’re not coming here to compete.”
Ma says that he does not want to fight for US market share, but rather improve business relations between US and China.
The Chairman is seeking to angle China’s middle class as a growth opportunity for American business and his e-commerce company, hoping to help small U.S. business trade more goods in China. Looking for revenue beyond China’s borders, Jack Ma want to strategically position Alibaba as a cross-border e-commerce solution, which allows China’s 557 million internet users to trade items from anywhere in the world.
Scheduled to arrive this past Monday in New York City, Ma’s itinerary includes a dinner with leaders of select global brands. The following day will entail lunch with members of the Economic Club of New York at Waldorf-Astoria New York. On Wednesday, Ma will travel to Chicago to a town-hall style meeting with over 300 business owners and American Express (NYSE: AXP) Chief Executive Office Ken Chenault. He will also be meeting Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
"The opportunity and the strategy for us is helping small business in America go to China, sell their products to China," Ma said.
Last month, Alibaba’s newly appointed CEO Daniel Zhang told his employees that global expansion is a top priority.
According to Reuters, in the first three months of the year, Alibaba’s revenue from Chinese commerce grew 39 percent to $2.2 billion. International commerce grew 27 percent to $264 million, which only accounted for 9 percent of revenue, in comparison with 11 percent in the same period last year.
John
I guess he is making his rounds
John
Jun 10, 2015 at 03 41 pm