Alibaba Group is extending its presence here in Malaysia with the opening of its first national office. The move is part of plans to deepen cooperation with Malaysia; providing additional resources and support for local businesses to expand into e-commerce.
A ‘Malaysia Week’ celebration was also announced at the launch of the new office in Bangsar South. This aims to promote Malaysian products and tourism in China, and will cover all of Alibaba’s platforms. Founder and CEO Jack Ma says that this is the first time that his company will be spending an entire week promoting a country. Seeing it as a sign of his commitment to working with the Malaysian people.
Alibaba has also set up a Malaysia Pavilion on Alibaba.com to promote Malaysian products; mirroring its move in promoting Chinese products though the Oriental Pavilion on Lazada (which it happens to own).
The Chinese internet giant has made substantial investments in Malaysia, having a hand in setting up the Digital Free Trade Zone last year. It also established its first international eHub under the Electronic World Trade Platform outside of China in the country last November.
