Hangzhou, 10th & 13th April: Alibaba.com Japan, the joint venture of Alibaba.com and Softbank, release a new paid product, “Ali Zhong Ri Tong” (Ali’s China-Japan Express). The product targets Gold Suppliers and was made available on 9th April. Alibaba.com’s Japanese site, alibaba.co.jp, launched on 15th May 2008 and has recorded 120,000 member and 1.4 million product listings. The company claims that the Japanese purchasers account for 40% of alibaba.co.jp members. The Alibaba Group also announced that it is investing US$2 billion to form a fund management company to target the secondary market. The new company will be led by Xiong Xiong, the founder and former CEO of Libra Capital. Libra Capital was established in 1997 and was later wholly acquired by the Alibaba Group. Sources: Pacific Epoch article, B2B Trade International article Courtesy: Business Strategies Group www.bsgasia.com
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