Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has registered a Russian subsidiary as it expands its hold over Russia's fast-growing online shopping market, newspaper Kommersant reported Tuesday.
A Russian company named Alibaba.com was registered on May 15, Kommersant reported. Mark Zavadsky, business development director for AliExpress in Russia and the CIS, confirmed the company's registration to Kommersant.
“Alibaba Group founded a new company in Russia in order to further expand our business and support our partners, and also to facilitate cooperation with the Russian authorities,” Zavadsky told the paper.
Founded in 1999, Alibaba Group specializes in online retail and services for the e-commerce industry. The company broke records late last year when it raised $25 billion in an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, the biggest IPO in history.
Its online retailer AliExpress, which links Chinese businesses to consumers worldwide, sold more in Russia than any other foreign e-commerce company in 2014, a report last year by industry watcher East-West Digital News (EWDN) found.
Chinese retailers have been steadily growing their share of Russia's e-commerce market in recent years. About 70 percent of packages shipped to Russians from abroad last year came from China, with cheap Chinese goods taking about 50 percent of foreign e-commerce companies' total sales in Russia, according to EWDN.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
