Retail in Asia

In Trends

Chinese rivals snap at Alibaba’s heels in cross-border e-commerce race

A Chinese government push to promote e-commerce has created a host of online retail rivals for Alibaba Group Holding and Amazon.com catering to shoppers’ fears about the quality and safety of local everyday goods.

Encouraged by tax-relief programs and other policies that gained traction last year, logistics firms including SF Express and state-owned Sinotrans are seeking to grab a piece of the cross-border e-commerce market which the government estimates to be worth USD1 trillion by 2016.

Smaller local internet firms like Netease, which partnered last month with Sinotrans to set up an online bazaar, are also keen to gain from the sector known as "haitao", which roughly translates as "seeking treasures abroad".
 

(Source: CNBC)