Quick Take: Alibaba Eyes More Latin American Markets After Brazil

(Beijing) — Six years after entering Brazil, Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is planning to visit a number of other Latin American markets, founder Jack Ma said, as it seeks to build up its global presence.

Alibaba first announced its entry to Brazil in 2010 and since then has set up cross-border business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-commerce platforms that have developed well in the country, Ma said, according to a transcript of his remarks at a Geneva event on Tuesday.

Following that performance, Alibaba plans to “visit” a number of other Latin American countries over the next few years, including Argentina and Mexico, Ma said.

“We hope we can get some benefits,” he said. “I remember going to Brazil two years ago, and believe our team has continually discussed how to follow up on the business.”

With control of more than half of China’s domestic e-commerce market, Alibaba has come under growing pressure to find new growth stories outside to demonstrate it can continue to grow and compete with the likes of global giants like Amazon.com Inc.

Ma scored a major coup in January when he became the first major Chinese business leader to meet with then-U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. During that meeting, Ma laid out a plan to create 1 million jobs in the U.S. over the next five years by helping small local businesses sell to Chinese consumers.

Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)