Company 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 includes business-to-business international trade, online retail and payment platforms and data-centric cloud computing services. 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 17,000 people in more than 50 cities in Greater China, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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 and the flagship company of Alibaba Group.
Founded in 1999, Alibaba.com makes it easy for millions of buyers and suppliers around the world to do business online through three marketplaces: a global trade marketplace (www.alibaba.com) for importers and exporters, a Chinese marketplace (www.alibaba.com.cn) for domestic trade in China, and, through an associated company, a Japanese marketplace (www.alibaba.co.jp) facilitating trade to and from Japan. Together, its marketplaces form a community of more than 45 million registered users from more than 240 countries and regions. Alibaba.com also offers business management software solutions targeting small businesses across China under the "Alisoft" brand and incubates e-commerce talent for small businesses in China through Ali-Institute. Founded in Hangzhou, China, Alibaba.com has offices in more than 50 cities across Greater China, Japan, Korea, Europe and the United States.
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.
Taobao - China's largest Internet retail website and one-stop platform for shopping, socializing and information sharing
Launched in 2003, Taobao (www.taobao.com) is the largest Internet retail Web site in China with 78 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. As of December 31, 2009, it served more than 170 million registered users. In 2008, Alibaba Group announced it will be investing more than US$700 million in Taobao in the next five years.
Transaction volume on Taobao (gross merchandise volume or GMV) exceeded RMB200 billion (US$29 billion) in 2009. According to government statistics, Taobao's GMV equaled approximately 1.4 percent of China's total retail trade in the first half of 2009. Taobao is the primary online shopping destination for the largest online population in the world**.
Platforms within Taobao include Alimama (www.alimama.com), an online advertising exchange and affiliate network for hundreds of thousands of publishers in China, and Koubei.com (www.koubei.com) China's leading classified listing website with more than 30 million registered users as of mid-2009.
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 338 million Internet users as of June 30, 2009.
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. Alipay currently facilitates about 5 million online payments worth more than RMB1.2 billion (US$176 million) per day. It had about 270 million registered users as of December 31, 2009.
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 businesses outside mainland China and supports transactions in 12 major foreign currencies.
* iResearch China Online Payment Research Report: 2008-2009. Shanghai: iResearch Consulting Group.
** iResearch China Online Payment Research Report: 2008-2009. Shanghai: iResearch Consulting Group.
Alibaba Cloud Computing - Developer of advanced data-centric cloud computing services
Alibaba Cloud Computing was established in September 2009 with the mission of building an advanced data-centric cloud computing service platform. The company is committed to supporting the growth of Alibaba Group and the whole e-commerce ecosystem by providing a comprehensive suite of Internet-based computing services, which include e-commerce data mining, high-speed massive e-commerce data processing, and data customization.
Alibaba Cloud Computing is wholly owned by Alibaba Group.
China Yahoo! - One of China's leading Internet portals
Alibaba Group acquired China Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com.cn) in October 2005 as part of its strategic partnership with Yahoo! Inc. China Yahoo! is one of the leading Chinese-language portals offering search, email and an enhanced focus on entertainment content.
China Yahoo! 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)
Alibaba Group R&D Institute is established (September)
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| 2009 |
Alisoft is merged with Alibaba Group R&D Institute (July)
Alisoft's Business Management Software division is injected into Alibaba.com (August)
Koubei.com is injected into Taobao as part of the "Big Taobao Strategy" (August)
Alibaba Cloud Computing was established in conjunction with Alibaba Group's 10th anniversary celebration. (September) |
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