E-commerce platform Taobao Taiwan to close on the island after being asked to register as Chinese-backed or leave

E-commerce platform Taobao Taiwan will stop services on the island by the end of this year after the local government two months ago gave the operator, a British-registered company called Claddagh Venture Investment, an ultimatum to register as Chinese-backed instead of foreign-owned or face closure.

“After careful evaluation, the company has decided to close front-end functions, such as order placement on the Taobao Taiwan platform, starting from 11am today,” according to a notice on the e-commerce’s website in Taiwan on Thursday.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, which runs the popular Taobao platform for global customers including mainland China, the US, Southeast Asia and Taiwan, owns 28.8 per cent of the Claddagh venture, according to company information and data from Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Claddagh set up a branch on the island last July and began operating Taobao Taiwan as a marketplace mainly for local merchants. Alibaba’s main Taobao platform – a separate website – is still available for customers there.

“Claddagh has continued to actively communicate [with relevant parties] and explore new development possibilities,” said Claddagh in a statement on Thursday. “However, after careful evaluation … [the company] made a painful decision to officially stop Claddagh’s operations in Taiwan from December 31, 2020.”

“We respect the decision by Claddagh,” Alibaba’s spokeswoman told the Post. “Alibaba businesses are operating as normal in the Taiwan market, and we will continue to serve local consumers with quality products through our Taobao app.”

Other services on the Claddagh-operated Taobao Taiwan platform, such as e-wallet withdrawals, logistics and the customer service centre will continue to operate until the end of the year and then close, the notice said.