'Old Economy' Veteran with 25 Years of Management Experience to Head Alibaba.com's Operations

Shanghai/Hong Kong-January 10, 2001-Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com), the world's largest business-to-business marketplace for global trade, announced today that Savio Kwan has joined the company as Alibaba.com's Chief Operating Officer (COO). Kwan has 25 years of global management experience, including fifteen years at General Electric and four years as the Managing Director of the China operations of BTR plc, a UK-based Fortune 500 company. Kwan joins Alibaba.com as an 'Old Economy' veteran with solid experience in high-growth businesses in Asia and around the world.


Kwan's career includes 15 years of high-level management at General Electric where he had responsibilities for sales, marketing, operations, business development, and establishment of joint venture companies. Among his accomplishments at GE, Kwan grew the China Medical business from zero revenues to US$70 million revenues in less than 4 years.


At BTR , Kwan was Managing Director for its China operation of 8 manufacturing subsidiaries with some US$150M sales which he built through merger and acquisitions in the space of under three years.


"Savio Kwan comes to Alibaba.com with the best management practices of the 'Old Economy' and the entrepreneurial energy of the 'New Economy," said Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba.com. "Savio is an accomplished business leader with strong experience both internationally and in China. Savio knows how to grow revenues from the ground up and we are pleased that he has joined the team as we continue to grow our business. At a time when many Internet companies are witnessing an exodus among their senior management, we're proud to have one of Asia's top business leaders join our ranks."


"I am pleased to join the team that has pioneered China's first global Internet brand and look forward to helping the business grow to the next level," said Savio Kwan, COO of Alibaba.com. "Alibaba.com is an unique Internet success story in Asia and is poised to capitalize on its excellent brand, market leadership, strong product and tremendous market potential."


Kwan, age 52, was born in Hong Kong and is a UK national. He pursued an undergraduate diploma at Cambridgeshire College of Technology and received Master of Science degrees from both the London Graduate School of Business Studies and Loughborough University of Technology in the UK. Key posts held by Kwan during his career include:

General Manager, China of GE's ultrasound business.

General Manager of GE Haiying Medical Equipment Co.

Managing Director, China for BTR Plc, a Fortune 500 company with US$13B Sales in Engineering and Manufacturing.

Managing Director, China for Invensys Plc, a Fortune 500 company specializing in automation and controls.

Prior to Kwan's joining the company on January 8, Alibaba.com CEO Jack Ma had served a dual role as CEO and acting COO. With Kwan joining the team, Ma will continue to focus on his primary role as the company's CEO.


Kwan joins Alibaba.com as the company crosses the 500,000-member mark and continues to grow at a rate of over 1,000 registered members per day, making it both the largest and fastest growing online marketplace for global trade.

About Alibaba.com

Alibaba.com is the world's largest online business-to-business marketplace for global trade and host to China's leading domestic B2B trade community. Alibaba.com's vision is to become the number one destination for buyers and sellers at small- and medium- sized enterprises (SME's) to find trade opportunities, promote their businesses and conduct transactions online.


Alibaba.com's Web properties have over 495,000 registered members from over 200 countries. Alibaba.com was recently selected by Forbes magazine as "Best of the Web: B2B" and selected as the most popular B2B website by readers of the Far Eastern Economic Review.


Alibaba.com is headquartered in Hong Kong with R&D and customer service operations in Mainland China, branch offices California and London, and a joint venture in Seoul, Korea (Alibaba Korea).


Alibaba.com's institutional investors include Softbank, Goldman Sachs, Transpac Capital, Fidelity Capital, Venture TDF, Pte Ltd of Singapore and Investor AB of Sweden.