E-commerce company Alibaba.com has opened its fourth functional office outside mainland China in Taipei, Taiwan.
The new Taipei office will serve its 40,000 local members and enable more small and medium-size enterprises in Taiwan to grow their business through e-commerce. Alibaba.com's three websites — for global trade, domestic trade in mainland China and trade with Japan — collectively form a business community of close to 30 million registered users from over 240 countries and regions.
Taiwan is a priority market for Alibaba.com and the company says it is committed to bringing global trade opportunities to Taiwan SMEs by helping them reach millions of buyers and sellers around the world. Alibaba.com is the only B2B e-commerce company that connects its Taiwan members with potential trading partners in mainland China, emerging markets like India, and developed markets like Japan, Europe and the US on a single platform.
"The launch of our Taipei office signifies our strong commitment to invest more resources to develop the Taiwan market and help local SMEs with global trade," said David Wei, CEO, Alibaba.com. "Alibaba.com can provide Taiwan's 220,000 export orientated SMEs with the right tools to connect with a huge pool of active international buyers and increase their competitiveness. In order to enhance our reach in Taiwan, we are also open to local partnerships in Taiwan in the future."
Steve Kang, senior business manager, Alibaba.com Taiwan, commented, "In recent years, fierce competition and a flat domestic economy have cut into the profits of Taiwan businesses and traditional cost saving measures are no longer enough. SMEs in Taiwan need to increase their margins by finding new customers overseas and Alibaba.com can help them tap into the global marketplace."
Alibaba.com recently launched its Gold Supplier membership package in Taiwan. This paid service enables suppliers to gain more exposure to buyers on Alibaba.com's international marketplace by providing them with a premium storefront, priority placement in search results and high quality customer service. The Taipei office will provide local customer service, marketing and sales support, as well as conducting offline education and training for its Taiwan customers. Currently, Alibaba.com has about 2,000 paying members in Taiwan.
