Hangzhou, China, 11 December 2007 – Alibaba.com, the world’s number one online marketplace for global and domestic China trade, today signed a non-exclusive partnership agreement with GE Consumer and Industrial, a company under international technology and services conglomerate General Electric (GE), for supplier sourcing and online marketing.

 

Under the agreement, GE will use Alibaba.com to source new quality suppliers from China and promote its products and services to Alibaba’s online community of more than 24 million members. This is the first time GE has made a substantial commitment to online marketing and its choice of Alibaba.com is testimony to the marketplace’s powerful network of small and medium-sized buyers and suppliers from China and around the world.

 

Alibaba.com counts many other big corporations with large scale procurement needs as members, including P&G, Home Deport, Siemens, Samsung and Haier.

 

"As a global e-commerce leader, Alibaba.com can provide us with more choices of suppliers than traditional sourcing channels," said Hans Chia, General Manager of Business Development, GE Consumer and Industrial Greater China. "We are confident that Alibaba.com will help us secure more quality suppliers and promote our products and services to enterprises in China."

 

"We are happy to welcome a world-famous corporation like GE to our membership community," said Will Chen, Director of Marketing and Business Development, Alibaba.com. "GE creates value for its customers by providing not only convenient and efficient but also energy saving total solutions and services. Alibaba.com also strives to create value for our customers through innovative products and solutions. We look forward to developing a long-term, mutually beneficial partnership with GE."

 

In addition to sourcing and online marketing, the two companies will cooperate in other areas such as staff leadership training. Alibaba Group will also use GE electricity and lighting equipment for its new corporate headquarters currently under construction in the Binjiang District of Hangzhou and its data centers elsewhere in China.

GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work -- a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.ge.com.

 

GE traces its beginnings to Thomas A. Edison, who established Edison Electric Light Company in 1878. In 1892, a merger of Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company created General Electric Company. GE is the only company listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index today that was also included in the original index in 1896.

 

In 2006, GE generated US$163 billion in revenues. It now operates seven businesses, including Infrastructure, Industrial, Corporate Solutions, Healthcare, Commercial Finance, Consumer Finance and NBC Universal.

 

Alibaba.com (HKSE:1688), a member of the Alibaba Group of companies, is one of the world’s premier e-commerce brands and the number one online marketplace for global and domestic China trade. We provide an efficient, trusted platform connecting small and medium-sized buyers and suppliers from around the world. Our international marketplace (www.alibaba.com) focuses on global importers and exporters and our China marketplace (www.alibaba.com.cn) focuses on suppliers and buyers trading domestically in China. Together our marketplaces form a community of more than 24 million registered users from over 200 countries and regions.

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