Alibaba: The Giant of e-Commerce

[艹艹艹]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-05/alibaba-china-online-retail-giant-comes-to-melbourne/8242160
Alibaba: China's online retail giant new Melbourne HQ will put squeeze on local retailers, industry group says
Updated about 5 hours ago

PHOTO: Singles Day, the largest online shopping day in the world, is a huge earner for e-commerce store Alibaba.(Reuters: Lang Lang)

The shopping day has even been blamed for shortages of Australian infant formula, which is among the products being discounted.

The group's billionaire founder Jack Ma, who spent time in Australia as a young man, said he hoped the e-commerce giant would help Australian and New Zealand businesses "share their world-famous products with billions of customers around the world".

There are more than 1,300 Australian and 400 New Zealand brands on Alibaba's Tmall and Tmall Global, the company said in a statement.

Alibaba has already formed partnerships with Woolworths, Australia and in May 2014 signed a deal with Australia Post to connect Australian consumers with Chinese manufacturers while at the same time boosting Chinese consumption of Australian products.

It is the company's first expansion in the region as it seeks to tap growing global demand for products from the two countries, but Mr Zimmerman said the move was no surprise.

"We're seeing the international retailers look at Australia very carefully at the moment."

Australians leveraging Alibaba

A host of Australian companies are tapping into a Chinese middle class hungry for high-quality health, supplements, food and cosmetic products through global conglomerate Alibaba.

And he said Alibaba made a calculated business decision by choosing Melbourne as their Australian base.

"It's probably seen as the fashion capital of Australia anyway," Mr Zimmerman said.

"Secondly, I think it's really around the opportunity to work with governments and I've no doubt they will be.

"Melbourne is predicted to be the largest city in Australia I think in about twenty years' time."

The Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said Melbourne is Australia's fastest growing capital city.

 

[TaiShang]

to connect Australian consumers with Chinese manufacturers while at the same time boosting Chinese consumption of Australian products.

That's good. It should be a two-way street.

***

Alibaba opens Australian, New Zealand headquarters
Xinhua, February 4, 2017

Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne.

"With a local office and expert team, Alibaba Group will help Australian and New Zealand businesses share their world-famous products with billions of customers around the world," Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman told a ceremony attended by over 350 business, industry and government figures, "Alibaba Group is here to make it easy to do business anywhere."

There are over 1,300 Australian and 400 New Zealand brands on Tmall and Tmall Global, many of which entered China for the first time through these platforms, according to Ma.

The success of Australian products was illustrated through the 2016 Double 11 Global Shopping Festival, with Australia ranked the fourth highest selling country.

"A physical Alibaba headquarters is a key step in ensuring Australian businesses have the support and information they need to succeed in China and the rest of the world," said Maggie Zhou, Australian and New Zealand Managing Director, who will lead the headquarters.

In the longer term, Alibaba Group's vision for the ANZ region is to build the entire operating infrastructure needed to enable local businesses to expand globally, Zhou said.

Alibaba Cloud launched its services and opened its data center in late 2016 and there are now more than 1,000 bricks-and-mortar stores accepting Alipay across Australia and New Zealand.

"This is just the start, with further growth planned in the areas of cloud, payments, digital entertainment and logistics," Zhou added.

 

[艹艹艹]

The Jack Ma & Morley Scholarship Program

 

[AndrewJin]

China's Jack Ma Foundation launches scholarship program in Australia's University of Newcastle
2017-02-04 13:21 Xinhua Editor: Xu Shanshan

View attachment 374423
Jack Ma (C) participates in the announcement of a scholarship program in Australia's University of Newcastle (UON) in New South Wales, Australia, Feb. 3, 2017. Australia's University of Newcastle on Friday announced the establishment of a scholarship program supported by China's Jack Ma Foundation. Jack Ma Foundation will give US$20 million (AU$26.4 million) to fund a first of its kind scholarship program at UON, marking the largest philanthropic commitment in UON's history. (Xinhua/Gui Qing)

Australia's University of Newcastle (UON) on Friday announced the establishment of a scholarship program supported by China's Jack Ma Foundation.

Jack Ma Foundation will give US$20 million (AU$26.4 million) to fund a first of its kind scholarship program at UON, marking the largest philanthropic commitment in UON's history, and the Jack Ma Foundation's first philanthropic contribution in Australia.

Ma was joined by New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian MP, UON Chancellor Paul Jeans and others to announce the scholarship program in Newcastle.

In its initial year, The Ma & Morley Scholarship Program will support 30 new UON scholarships, 20 scholarships to support students throughout the duration of their degree, including access to a unique and comprehensive engagement and enrichment program, and 10 one-off scholarships to support educational exchange, internship or immersion activities.

When the program reaches full capacity, it will support 90 students per year.

UON Vice-Chancellor, Professor Caroline McMillen, said The Ma & Morley Scholarship Program at UON would have a transformational impact on the lives of students and shape the next generation of leaders.

"Through this remarkable friendship spanning decades, a new generation of talented students will have the opportunity to reach their full personal and professional potential," Professor McMillen said.

"This scholarship program will exemplify the shared values between Mr Ma and Mr Morley, and aims to develop the next generation of globally aware and socially conscious Australian leaders," Professor McMillen said.

The first round of The Ma & Morley Scholarship Program will be advertised in mid-2017 for students commencing their first year of an undergraduate degree at UON in 2018.


View attachment 374425
Jack Ma delivers a speech in Australia's University of Newcastle (UON) in New South Wales, Australia, Feb. 3, 2017. Australia's University of Newcastle on Friday announced the establishment of a scholarship program supported by China's Jack Ma Foundation. Jack Ma Foundation will give US$20 million (AU$26.4 million) to fund a first of its kind scholarship program at UON, marking the largest philanthropic commitment in UON's history. (Xinhua/Gui Qing)

It's time for people outside China to enjoy the fast-delivery E-commerce experiences.
Let's say, one day delivery for every capital city in Australia.

 

[ahojunk]

That's good. It should be a two-way street.

***

Alibaba opens Australian, New Zealand headquarters
Xinhua, February 4, 2017

Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne.

"With a local office and expert team, Alibaba Group will help Australian and New Zealand businesses share their world-famous products with billions of customers around the world," Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman told a ceremony attended by over 350 business, industry and government figures, "Alibaba Group is here to make it easy to do business anywhere."

There are over 1,300 Australian and 400 New Zealand brands on Tmall and Tmall Global, many of which entered China for the first time through these platforms, according to Ma.

The success of Australian products was illustrated through the 2016 Double 11 Global Shopping Festival, with Australia ranked the fourth highest selling country.

"A physical Alibaba headquarters is a key step in ensuring Australian businesses have the support and information they need to succeed in China and the rest of the world," said Maggie Zhou, Australian and New Zealand Managing Director, who will lead the headquarters.

In the longer term, Alibaba Group's vision for the ANZ region is to build the entire operating infrastructure needed to enable local businesses to expand globally, Zhou said.

Alibaba Cloud launched its services and opened its data center in late 2016 and there are now more than 1,000 bricks-and-mortar stores accepting Alipay across Australia and New Zealand.

"This is just the start, with further growth planned in the areas of cloud, payments, digital entertainment and logistics," Zhou added.

.
Alibaba opens Australian, New Zealand headquarters in Melbourne
Source: Xinhua | 2017-02-04 19:06:47 | Editor: huaxia

Jack Ma (5th R), Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman, cuts the ribbon during the opening ceremony of Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters of Alibaba in Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 4, 2017. Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne. (Xinhua/Gui Qing)

CANBERRA, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne.

"With a local office and expert team, Alibaba Group will help Australian and New Zealand businesses share their world-famous products with billions of customers around the world," Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman told a ceremony attended by over 350 business, industry and government figures, "Alibaba Group is here to make it easy to do business anywhere."

There are over 1,300 Australian and 400 New Zealand brands on Tmall and Tmall Global, many of which entered China for the first time through these platforms, according to Ma.

The success of Australian products was illustrated through the 2016 Double 11 Global Shopping Festival, with Australia ranked the fourth highest selling country.

"A physical Alibaba headquarters is a key step in ensuring Australian businesses have the support and information they need to succeed in China and the rest of the world," said Maggie Zhou, Australian and New Zealand Managing Director, who will lead the headquarters.

Longer term, Alibaba Group's vision for the ANZ region is to build the entire operating infrastructure needed to enable local businesses to expand globally, Zhou said.

Alibaba Cloud launched its services and opened its data center in late 2016 and there are now more than 1,000 bricks-and-mortar stores accepting Alipay across Australia and New Zealand.

"This is just the start, with further growth planned in the areas of cloud, payments, digital entertainment and logistics," Zhou added.

Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman, launches a speech during the opening ceremony of Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters of Alibaba in Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 4, 2017. Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne. (Xinhua/Gui Qing)

Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman, launches a speech during the opening ceremony of Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters of Alibaba in Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 4, 2017. Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne. (Xinhua/Gui Qing)

Jack Ma (L), Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman, and Premier of the Australian state of Victoria Daniel Andrews attend the opening ceremony of Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters of Alibaba in Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 4, 2017. Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne. (Xinhua/Gui Qing)
.

 

[patero]

So the New Zealand headquarters is in Melbourne. Can't say I'm surprised, we get treated as an afterthought by a lot of large international companies who do exactly the same.

From my own perspective, my experiences with Alibaba have been mixed, much as with our own trade-me e-commerce platform. I am more interested in the potential for exporting our product to China and beyond than for procurement though, I will follow this development very closely.

 

[艹艹艹]

http://telecom.economictimes.indiat...artner-telcos-to-offer-free-internet/57013385
Alibaba To Offer Free Internet In India Via Partnerships With Telcos & Wi-Fi Providers

Online major Alibaba is planning to offer free Internet services in partnership with telecom service providers in India, according to a Business Insider report.

ETTelecom|Updated: February 07, 2017, 09:56 IST

NEW DELHI: Online major Alibaba is planning to offer free Internet services in partnership with telecom service providers in India, according to a Business Insider report.

Company’s search and software arm UCWeb, acquired in 2014, earlier said that it was looking at newer opportunities in India while adding that last-mile access would be a big challenge.

The report quoted Jack Huang, President of Overseas Business, Alibaba Mobile Business as saying, ““We are trying to offer lower cost data to users and better connectivity, even free of cost connectivity. Wi-Fi providers and other players can be potentials and we are in talk”.

UCWeb has recently committed an investment of Rs 120 crore in the digital space in India.

 

[ahojunk]

OPINION
Alibaba’s new Australian office will bring more China-focused jobs

Jack Ma in Newcastle at the weekend. Picture: Britta Campion.

• The Australian
• 12:00AM February 6, 2017
• Associate Editor (Business) Sydney @GlendaKorporaal
• 

Alibaba founder Jack Ma had some words for Australian business when he visited Melbourne for the opening of his company’s Australian office on the weekend.

Stop worrying about whether there might be global trade wars and just get on doing business.

“Trade is good,” the diminutive Ma told a luncheon of about 400 people in Melbourne’s Grand Hyatt in an address which was part Richard Branson, part Steve Jobs.

His audience included federal Industry Minister Arthur Sinodonis, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Blackmores CEO Christine Holgate, Australia Post chairman John Stanhope, former federal trade minister Andrew Robb, and John Brumby, former Victorian premier and current president of the Australia China Chamber of Commerce.

It might sound a little like sloganeering but it is a lot better than Gordon Gekko’s “greed is good” and Ma, when it comes to global trade, has put his money — and more importantly his considerable energy — where his mouth is. And, as he said bluntly, when trade stops, war starts.

The best advertisement for globalisation, Ma argued, was the success of one company trading with another, hiring more people in the process.

Ma founded his own e-commerce business in Hangzhou, China, in 1999 in his apartment with a group of 18 friends, at a time few people had any idea of the potential of the internet, particularly in China.

He has pursued his passion for the potential of online commerce and linking-up small businesses with consumers around the world with missionary-like zeal.

Big business, he says, doesn’t need Alibaba’s online sales platforms. His business, which handled sales of more than $US560 billion ($728.6bn) last year, is based on thousands of small transactions — business-to-business and business-to-consumer — a second. His very business model is built on globalisation.

Ma, who was one of the first global business leaders to meet Donald Trump as president-elect last month, now keeps up a hectic international schedule which has seen him fly to Switzerland to address the annual Davos business gatherings and strike a deal to become a major sponsor of the International Olympic Committee. then back to China and down to Australia.

He met Malcolm Turnbull in Sydney on Friday, before driving north to Newcastle to meet with his old friend, David Morley and donate $US20 million of scholarships to the University of Newcastle, drive back to Sydney and get on a plane to Melbourne that night. He left Australia for the US after his Melboure address.

Commenting carefully on Trump, Ma said the world was in very interesting times, which would also bring forward a very different type of political leader.

After visiting Trump Tower early last month, Ma had promised to create a million new jobs in the US over the next five years through Alibaba’s American businesses.

It was a promise designed to give political face to Trump, who was elected on a platform of bringing back American jobs, and a promise which Ma intends to keep.

He studiously avoided answering how many jobs Alibaba might create from its new Australian office.

But the reality is that by putting down the Alibaba flag here with a very specific goal of helping more small Australian businesses sell into China, he will help to create Australian jobs.

The challenge for Australian business is to take up the opportunity, given the basic goodwill among ordinary Chinese towards Australians and Australian goods.

Of course, it won’t be easy. There are language and cultural issues to cope with as well as intense competition from businesses around the world for Chinese consumer spending.

But having an electronic magic carpet at your doorstop is a good start. Ma talked about the need to train more people in Australia to handle online commerce with China and made a pitch for Australian business to connect with the almost 1 million Chinese already in Australia.

Ma’s other lesson, which is important given Bellamy’s Chinese issues, is the importance of learning from one’s mistakes and, Churchill-like, not giving up.

When he gets to write his book, Ma said at the weekend, he will call it Alibaba and 1001 mistakes. Bellamy’s probably knows more about doing business in China than it did a year ago.

Doing business with China was never going to be easy and mistakes will be made, which in many ways is the only way to learn. When the going gets tough, which it may well do, just remember: “trade is good.”

If that’s not enough, remember that believing that is one of the reasons Jack Ma, the boy from Hangzhou with no political connections, is worth more than $30bn.

Glenda Korporaal travelled to Melbourne as a guest of Alibaba.

 

[AndrewJin]

.
Alibaba opens Australian, New Zealand headquarters in Melbourne
Source: Xinhua | 2017-02-04 19:06:47 | Editor: huaxia

View attachment 374907
Jack Ma (5th R), Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman, cuts the ribbon during the opening ceremony of Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters of Alibaba in Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 4, 2017. Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne. (Xinhua/Gui Qing)

CANBERRA, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne.

"With a local office and expert team, Alibaba Group will help Australian and New Zealand businesses share their world-famous products with billions of customers around the world," Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman told a ceremony attended by over 350 business, industry and government figures, "Alibaba Group is here to make it easy to do business anywhere."

There are over 1,300 Australian and 400 New Zealand brands on Tmall and Tmall Global, many of which entered China for the first time through these platforms, according to Ma.

The success of Australian products was illustrated through the 2016 Double 11 Global Shopping Festival, with Australia ranked the fourth highest selling country.

"A physical Alibaba headquarters is a key step in ensuring Australian businesses have the support and information they need to succeed in China and the rest of the world," said Maggie Zhou, Australian and New Zealand Managing Director, who will lead the headquarters.

Longer term, Alibaba Group's vision for the ANZ region is to build the entire operating infrastructure needed to enable local businesses to expand globally, Zhou said.

Alibaba Cloud launched its services and opened its data center in late 2016 and there are now more than 1,000 bricks-and-mortar stores accepting Alipay across Australia and New Zealand.

"This is just the start, with further growth planned in the areas of cloud, payments, digital entertainment and logistics," Zhou added.

View attachment 374909
Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman, launches a speech during the opening ceremony of Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters of Alibaba in Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 4, 2017. Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne. (Xinhua/Gui Qing)

View attachment 374910
Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman, launches a speech during the opening ceremony of Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters of Alibaba in Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 4, 2017. Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne. (Xinhua/Gui Qing)

View attachment 374911
Jack Ma (L), Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman, and Premier of the Australian state of Victoria Daniel Andrews attend the opening ceremony of Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters of Alibaba in Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 4, 2017. Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Saturday opened its Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Australia's Melbourne. (Xinhua/Gui Qing)
.

Time to conquer the southern hemisphere.....

 

[ahojunk]

Time to conquer the southern hemisphere.....

For the Chinese, humility is a respected and admired trait.
You do it first and then say, not the other way around.
Making an announcement prior to any achievement sounds very much like bragging.
Are you a false flagger? LOL.

 

[patero]

I plan on marketing my brand to Chinese consumers and beyond via Alibaba, so I support it's expansion into the Australasian market. Alibaba facilitates trade and is therefore beneficial to both China and Australasia.

 

[AndrewJin]

For the Chinese, humility is a respected and admired trait.
You do it first and then say, not the other way around.
Making an announcement prior to any achievement sounds very much like bragging.
Are you a false flagger? LOL.

 

[patero]

For the Chinese, humility is a respected and admired trait.
You do it first and then say, not the other way around.

I've read some of the teachings of Lao-Tze, an English transliteration of one of his famous quotes comes to mind: "One who knows does not say, one who says does not know".

 

[艹艹艹]

http://fortune.com/2017/02/14/mattel-alibaba-ecommerce-pact/
Mattel and Alibaba Join Forces For China E-Commerce Push
John Kell
Feb 14, 2017

The 2016 Barbie Fashionistas line is displayed at the New York Fair, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016. Photo by Diane Bondareff — Invision/AP

Mattel has inked a strategic partnership with e-commerce giant Alibaba to help the toy maker more aggressively sell core brands like Fisher-Price and Barbie to mobile-savvy Chinese parents.

On Tuesday, the companies announced a pact that would combine Mattel's toy brands with Alibaba's data and insights into the Chinese consumer. The goal is for Mattel to tackle the $7 billion Chinese toy category, which has posted strong growth though average per-child spendingon toys is low compared to Japan and Western markets. The U.S. toy industry, for example, generates $20.4 billion at retail and that market is far smaller in terms of population.

Margo Georgiadis, who became Mattel's CEO last week, in a statement touted the combination of Mattel's "unmatched expertise in childhood learning and development with Alibaba's immense reach and unique consumer insights." She added that because the Chinese toy market is highly fragmented, there's a lot of potential for growth. "Working with Alibaba, we see a terrific opportunity to develop and lead the category," Georgiadis said.

Under the collaboration, Mattel will market and sell brands like Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price via Alibaba's marketplace, targeting an audience of some 443 million active buyers. Mattel will also work with Alibaba to develop new toy products that would be made specifically for the Chinese consumer. Mattel has made some early inroads in the market with the Fisher-Price brand but says it can do more to make the company's brands relevant to Chinese children and their parents.

A cultural barrier that Mattel and Alibaba will need to overcome is that when parents do have extra money to spend on their kids, they prefer to put it toward educational pursuits. Mattel says it wants to develop educational content that can persuade parents in China that buying toys can have a benefit too.

"Toys and play are an important part of a child's early development, helping to drive IQ and EQ [emotional intelligence ] development, said Patty Wu, Mattel’s vice president of China growth, in a blog post. She explained that parents in China bought fewer toys than parents in other countries because they worried that playing would hurt academic performance. That mindset explains why China's market for baby formula is three times larger than the U.S. but the toy industry is only 30% of the size.

Mattel's Alibaba pact is the next phase in the company's push into China, which has been an ongoing effort via deals with physical distributors and an online push—including with Alibaba’s Tmall.com shopping website starting in 2011.

It is also the first big announcement from Mattel after Georgiadis officially took over as CEO earlier this month. Georgiadis previously served as Google Americas President and Wall Street has hoped that she can help the toy maker successfully incorporate tech into toys and also help Mattel find new distribution levers as brick-and-mortar retail traffic slows and consumers buy more goods online. The pact with Alibaba is a nod toward that shift in purchasing. Working closely with Alibaba can help Mattel compete more effectively in online and mobile commerce.

The Alibaba partnership comes a few weeks after Mattel reported fourth-quarter sales that missed Wall Street expectations. Results throughout 2016 were hurt by the loss of a key Disney Princess license to rival Hasbro , though Mattel has had some success with a turnaround for Barbie and posted sturdy sales for Fisher-Price, American Girl, and construction/art toys.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysoma...-it-and-they-will-come-approach/#6ca046fc42de
FEB 13, 2017 @ 01:22 PM3,564VIEWSPeek Inside The Billionaire Portfolio Of Trump’s Key Advisor
With Cloud, Alibaba Follows The 'Build It And They Will Come' Approach

Jay Somaney,
CONTRIBUTOR

MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

This morning, Alibaba quietly announced that Alibaba Cloud service has already doubled the capacity of its Hong Kong based data center in order to meet fast increasing demand in the Asia-Pacific region.

The company said that the expansion in Hong Kong is part of its master plan to eventually expand into providing cloud services the world over.

According to research outfit Gartner, the worldwidecloud servicesmarket is projected to grow 16.5 percent in 2016 to total $204 billion, up from $175 billion in 2015. The cloud services market includes Goliaths like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, which currently combine for the lion's share. According to Alibaba, adding capacity in Hong Kong will help Alibaba Cloud increase its ability to meet fast rising demand in disaster recovery cloud services, data storage and analytics, middleware and cloud security services on the continent.

"The market for public cloud services is continuing to demonstrate high rates of growth across all markets and Gartner expects this to continue through 2017," said Sid Nag, research director at Gartner. "This strong growth continues reflect a shift away from legacy IT services to cloud-based services, due to increased trend of organizations pursuing a digital business strategy."

In the recently reported December quarter, Alibaba Cloud reported revenues of $254 million, 115% year-on-year but still a drop in the bucket compared top the revenues reported by AWS and Azure. Alibaba Cloud saw its paying customer base increase to 765,000, up 100% YoY.

Alibaba Cloud has operations in 14 global economic centers including mainland China, Singapore and the U.S, in addition to Hong Kong.

At present, it looks like Alibaba is going with the "build it and they will come" model and given the recent success (in growth rates albeit off a much smaller base by far compared to AWS and Azure) in Q4:16, it's a strategy that ihas paid big dividends thus far and will pay even bigger in the future.

 

[onebyone]

Alibaba: Why Goldman Sees 30% Upside
By Shuli Ren

Alibaba Group (BABA) is on Goldman Sachs‘ conviction buy list this year.

Goldman sees three main drivers for Alibaba.

Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman, China’s Jack Ma (Photo credit FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

First, Alibaba can use Big Data to analyze its customers and provide a more targeted and integrated shopping experience, analyst Piyush Mubayi wrote:

Big data assists brands understand their customers, and BABA’s consumer centric approach helps merchants in consumer acquisition, retention and drives operating efficiency. BABA’s 10 year-long customer records that are based on a Unified ID are the foundation of its big data… Across Alibaba’s common ID system and multiple levels of engagements at Taobao, Tmall, Alipay, Weibo and Youku, the company tracks over 100 data points for each of its consumers.

As a result, we forecast: 1) personalized shopping experiences to drive GMV growth, reaching Rmb5.2trn (~US$754bn) in FY19E, a 17% FY17E-19E CAGR, 2) effective monetization rate increase to 3.5% (from below 3% in 2016), and 3) 31% FY17E-19E CAGR in paid clicks.

Second, “new retail.” Through its partnership with Intime (1833.Hong Kong), a department store, and most recently Bailian, which operates shopping malls, supermarkets and convenience stores across China, Alibaba is hoping to integrate retailers’ expensive double-inventory system. Currently, retailers in China operate two inventories, one for online, one for offline. Goldman wrote:

Based on our sensitivity analysis, if BABA’s platform manages to capture 10% of offline retail sales GMV at the same take rate as current China Retail, earning half of the core commerce EBIT margin, our FY19E EPS could be 28% higher than our base case estimate.

Third, cloud, a $30 billion opportunity. Goldman wrote:

We forecast Cloud to be BABA’s quickest growing business, accounting for high teens of the overall growth, and low teens of group revenue. The segment’s profit drag should reverse in the next two years, improving to 30% in four years.

We forecast AliCloud’s revenue to reach Rmb56.5bn (US$8.3bn) by FY2020. We observe that AliCloud’s revenue lags AWS’ revenue by four-years and we assume the trend will continue, based on company specific forecasts.

AliCloud is now the only cloud service provider with full range of services in China, such as elastic computing, storage/database and data computing, including strong middleware services.

Alibaba has gained more than 17% year-to-date. Using a sum-of-the-parts analysis Goldman reckons Alibaba is worth $135 per share, implying more than 30% upside to its latest price of $102.78 a share.

http://blogs.barrons.com/asiastocks...-upside/?mod=yahoobarrons&ru=yahoo&yptr=yahoo