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Denise Tsang

A syndicate led by Japanese Internet investor Softbank Corp has invested US$20 million in electronic-commerce Web portal firm Ali baba.com Corp.

 The capital injection is aimed at helping Ali baba.com develop local versions of its business-to-business trade portal in Japan, South Korea and several European countries.

 Set up in March last year, Alibaba.com provides a global trading platform for goods ranging from company shares to chemicals and from agricultural products to home appliances.

 'When meeting for the first time, we found we shared the same vision on e-commerce. It was like love at first sight,' Alibaba chairman Jack Ma Yun said, referring to Softbank China Venture Capital partner Charlie Shi.

 Softbank joined existing shareholders including Goldman Sachs, Fidelity Capital and Transpac Capital to participate in its latest round of financing.

 Softbank and Goldman Sachs are the dominant shareholders in Alibaba.com.

 However, Alibaba.

com would not disclose the shareholding breakdown, or how much each investor had contributed.

 Mr Shi said Softbank hoped to replicate the success of United States portal Yahoo!, which it had helped to grow.

 In less than a year, Alibaba.com has clocked up 100,000 members of its Chinese-language Web portal.

 The portal receives 800 to 1,000 buy and sell offers every day.

 'It's an inexpensive trading platform, unlike others which only offer catalogues,' Mr Ma said.



Softbank group pumps US$20m into Alibaba