Alibaba.com eyes 50% rise in registered SMEs from India

MUMBAI: With China fast losing its edge as a sourcing hub, global e-commerce major Alibaba.com is eyeing a 50 per cent rise in number of registered SMEs from India to three million by FY 12 end, a senior official said.

"China is losing its lustre and many buyers are increasingly opting for other markets...we expect growth from India to continue to be 50 per cent which will take us to 3 million accounts by March-end," the company's country General Manager Sandeep Deshpande told PTI.

He listed appreciation of the Chinese Renminbi versus the US dollar, rising labour costs and increasing instances of tax subsidies to special economic zones being taken off as the disadvantages affecting China currently.

India, on the other hand, is getting fast recognised as having a culture of innovation having a focus on R&D, he said, adding the "getting-it-cheap" tag is also not associated with India.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed company acts as a platform which typically connects first-world buyers with the cost-effective suppliers from emerging markets. It charges subscription charges from every registering supplier while buyers are not charged.

The b-2-b (business-to-business) company, which opened its India office in August 2010, is undertaking a slew of initiatives like having offline trade fairs to increase its presence in India.