Monday, December 17, 2007

Alibaba targets India

Interesting piece over the WSJ/Hindustan Times MINT site about Alibaba's ambitions for India. Brian Wong is quoted as saying that they currently have 340,000 users in India and expect to double that figure by the end of 2008. However, he told Indian journalists:

“Depending on the response, we will decide on the opening of our offices or acquisitions in India. However, we don’t have any immediate plans of the kind,” Wong said.
Hmm. Sounds a bit tentative doesn't it? He also noted:

“Around 60% of the overall IPO funds will be used for strategic acquisitions and business development globally, as also for acquisition of technologies,” he said.

We wait with bated breath. There ain't the makings of a plan worth US$17 billion (today's market cap) in those quotes.

Update: Interesting that no sooner have I read this than I find another household name, and arguably the kings of global sourcing, looking to double its activity in India. Fons points to a piece about Li & Fung which currently does 6% of its business in India.

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