Li Ka-shing’s Tom Group bares plans for ambitious internet finance venture in China

Tom Group, the media conglomerate controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, plans to step up the expansion of its e-commerce joint venture in mainland China with an ambitious foray into the online finance business.

Chairman Frank John Sixt said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange that Ule, the joint venture established by Tom and China Post in 2010, will launch its online finance and loan products this year.

He expected this diversification by Ule will need deeper “cooperation with strategic partners to drive sales, cementing its market-leading position in rural e-commerce”.

In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, Tom reported that Ule’s gross merchandise volume – the total amount of goods sold on the online retail site – jumped 354 per cent to 6.49 billion yuan (HK$8.17 billion) last year, up from 1.43 billion yuan in 2013, as more merchants in the countryside joined the e-commerce platform.

Supported by China Post’s vast infrastructure, Ule is encouraging rural store owners and villagers to shop and trade through its network of online, offline and mobile retail channels.

At the end of last year, more than 40,000 merchants in 21 provinces in mainland China were doing business through Ule.