Corporate Overview
Alibaba Group makes it easy for anyone to buy or sell online anywhere in the world. We are a family of Internet-based businesses that encompasses business-to-business trade, retail, payment, business management software and classified listings. The Group was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma, a pioneer who has aspired to help make the Internet accessible, trustworthy and beneficial for everyone. The privately held Alibaba Group reaches Internet users in more than 240 countries and regions, and employs 12,000 people in more than 40 cities in mainland China as well as in Hong Kong, Taiwan, London and Silicon Valley.
Companies in Alibaba Group are:
Alibaba.com - Global leader in business-to-business e-commerce
Alibaba.com Limited (HKSE: 1688.HK) is the global leader in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce serving a business community of more than 35 million registered users worldwide and the publicly traded flagship company of Alibaba Group.
Founded in 1999, Alibaba.com connects millions of business buyers and sellers around the world each day through three marketplaces: an English-language website for international trade (www.alibaba.com); a Chinese-language website for domestic trade in China (www.alibaba.com.cn); and a Japanese-language website for trade with Japan (www.alibaba.co.jp) through a joint venture with Softbank. The company is the market leader in both its international and domestic marketplaces, with a market share of more than 50 percent*.
Alibaba.com completed its US$1.7 billion initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in November 2007, the biggest Internet IPO since Google??s 2004 offering on the NASDAQ.
* iResearch China SME B2B E-C Research Report: 2007-2008. Shanghai: iResearch Consulting Group.
Taobao - China's largest Internet retail website
Launched in 2003, Taobao (www.taobao.com) is the largest Internet retail website in China with more than 75 percent of the Chinese-domestic online consumer market*. It provides the most comprehensive product offering ranging from collectibles and hard-to-find items to mainstream retail categories such as consumer electronics, clothing and accessories, sporting goods and household products. It serves nearly 100 million registered users and more than 1.5 million sellers have opened up stores on Taobao. In 2008, Alibaba Group announced it will be investing more than US$700 million in Taobao in the next five years.
Annual transaction volume on Taobao (gross merchandise volume or GMV) reached nearly US$15 billion in 2008, expanding at a three-year compounded annual growth rate of more than 150 percent and exceeding the largest retailer in China in transaction volume. According to government statistics, Taobao??s GMV equaled approximately one percent of China's total retail trade in 2008. Taobao is the primary online shopping destination for the largest online population in the world**.
Alimama (www.alimama.com), an online advertising exchange and affiliate network for more than 400,000 publishers in China, was merged into Taobao in 2008.
Taobao is wholly owned by Alibaba Group.
* iResearch China Online Shopping Research Report: 2008-2009. Shanghai: iResearch Consulting Group.
** According to China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), China had 298 million Internet users as of the end of 2008.
Alipay - China??s leading third-party online payment platform
Alipay (www.alipay.com) is the leading third-party online payment platform in China. It provides an easy, safe and secure way for millions of Chinese consumers to purchase goods and services on the Internet. With more than 50 percent of the market share*, it is the payment service of choice for consumers and merchants alike, and has the largest network of partnerships with banks in China. In 2008 Alipay facilitated nearly US$20 billion in online payment volume and had a registered user base of more than 110 million accounts.
Alipay provides an escrow payment service that reduces transaction risk for online consumers. Shoppers have the ability to verify whether they are happy with goods they have purchased before releasing funds to the seller. Alipay has significantly accelerated the growth of consumer e-commerce in China**.
In August 2007, Alipay launched an online payment solution to help merchants worldwide sell directly to consumers in China. It now cooperates with more than 300 global retail brands and supports transactions in 12 major foreign currencies.
Alipay is wholly owned by Alibaba Group.
* iResearch China Online Payment Research Report: 2008-2009. Shanghai: iResearch Consulting Group.
** iResearch China Online Payment Research Report: 2008-2009. Shanghai: iResearch Consulting Group.
Alisoft - Internet-based business management solutions
Alisoft (www.alisoft.com) develops, markets and delivers Internet-based business management solutions targeting small businesses across China. Through its Software as a Service (SaaS) model, Alisoft provides small businesses with low-cost, user-friendly enterprise and financial management tools. It commands more than 40 percent of the Chinese SaaS market.*
Alisoft was the first in Asia to launch a "software store" platform that integrated advanced Internet, telecommunication and software applications. With support from the fast growing number of independent software vendors (ISVs) in China, its software store introduced an online supermarket for software on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Alisoft is wholly owned by Alibaba Group.
* Li, Ruixiang. (2009) China SaaS Report. Beijing: Analysys International.
Yahoo! Koubei - China's leading classified listing website
Yahoo! Koubei operates portals focused on local listing services powered by search, maps and social networking technology. The two websites under Yahoo! Koubei are: China Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com.cn), a leading Chinese-language portal offering search, interactive community and one of the most popular email services in China; and Yahoo! Koubei (www.koubei.com), China's leading classified listing website providing more than 20 million registered users with local information covering more than 2,000 cities across China on topics essential to people??s daily lives, including restaurants, housing, childcare, employment, travel and entertainment.
Yahoo! Koubei is wholly owned by Alibaba Group.
History & Milestones
| 1999 |
Alibaba Group officially established by its 18 founders, led by Jack Ma, working out of a Hangzhou apartment |
| 1999-2000 |
Alibaba Group raises US$25 million from Softbank, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, and other institutions |
| 2002 |
Alibaba.com becomes profitable |
| 2003 |
Consumer e-commerce website Taobao is founded, again in Jack Ma's apartment |
| 2004 |
Online payment system Alipay is launched |
| 2005 |
Alibaba Group forms a strategic partnership with Yahoo! Inc. and takes over the operation of China Yahoo! |
| 2006 |
Alibaba Group makes a strategic investment in Koubei.com |
| 2007 |
Internet-based business software company Alisoft is launched (January)
Alibaba.com Limited lists on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (November)
Alibaba Group launches Alimama, an online advertising exchange company (November)
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| 2008 |
Koubei.com is merged with China Yahoo! to form Yahoo! Koubei (June) Alimama is integrated with Taobao (September)
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