Alibaba.com has signed a new pact with China Construction Bank Corp that will aid the e-commerce giant in expanding its credit-assistance scheme for small businesses across the country.
The move appears to bring Alibaba.com, part of Hangzhou-based Alibaba Group, closer to being a player - in a unique category all its own - in the mainland financial services industry.
The company's 'Ali-loan' programme, which aims to facilitate lending this year of up to 6 billion yuan (HK$6.81 billion) to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), will be extended to Shanghai after its initial run in Zhejiang province.
Alibaba.com, the world's leading business-to-business e-commerce services provider with about 38 million members worldwide, yesterday signed multiple agreements with Construction Bank, the nation's second-largest lender, to widen the programme's coverage with the support of local governments in Shanghai, Zhejiang and its capital Hangzhou.
'We are on track to meet our target of offering 6 billion yuan in loans to small businesses in China this year,' said Alibaba.com chief executive David Wei Zhe.
As of June 30 this year, the company has helped facilitate loans in excess of 2.6 billion yuan to about 1,400 small firms. Last year, 600 SMEs obtained more than 1 billion yuan in loans under the scheme.
Ali-loan was set up in June 2007, according to Alibaba.com, as many mainland SMEs grappled with the documents and proof of creditworthiness needed to persuade banks to lend them funds for capital expenditure.