SEOUL (BERNAMA) – Alibaba.com, China’s largest online marketplace, said yesterday it will open an exclusive website for South Korean companies in the second half, reflecting a growing demand from business to business buyers for Korean-made products.
Korean products have been available at the Chinese platform, but there has been no such site that showcases only the products of Korean sellers, Yonhap news agency reported the company said in a statement.
Alibaba.com has selected Korea as the first batch of countries in Asia to launch the dedicated website to help local small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) expand overseas sales, it said.
Through Alibaba.com’s exclusive Korean website and the membership trial programme, we hope to enhance the competitiveness of Korean SMEs and expand their overseas sales channels,” head of Alibaba.com Korea, Marco Yang said in the statement.
The membership trial programme will allow Korean SMEs to sell their products through the exclusive site at an annual fee of KRW280,000 (USD199), it said.
In the 12 months through June, demand for Korean products sharply increased at Alibaba.com, with sales of auto parts jumping more than three times, those of instant noodle “ramyeon” soaring 82 per cent, skin care product sales up 80 per cent and red ginseng sales up 69 per cent from a year earlier, it said.
