Alibaba.com, Italian Association of Foreign Trade Launch Cobranded site to Share Content and Marketing Power

Hong Kong, China / Milan, Italy - November 14, 2001- The Italian Association of Foreign Trade (AICE), the leading foreign trade business association in Italy, announced the launch of its new business portal and its 'B2B' portal, an all-new co-branded channel powered by Alibaba.com. The cobranded site brings Alibaba's China Suppliers to the Italian market, and provides an effective online link between Italian businesspeople and Alibaba's membership base of over 850,000.

The B2B portal can be accessed through the AICE business portal (www.aicebiz.com) and offers Italian businesses the opportunity to find trade leads and promote their products and services online. From a single destination, Italian businesses now can interact with Alibaba's 850,000 buyers and sellers from over 200 countries, and access other relevant information and services in 27 vertical industries. The portal will highlight Alibaba's community of qualified China Suppliers, adding powerful marketing muscle in Italy--of the world's most important buyers of Chinese goods.

The new AICE business portal will offer foreign trade related services and market information to the Italian business community and to foreign companies wishing to enter the Italian market.

AICE is the reference point for foreign trade for 60,000 companies located in the Milan area and for 600,000 companies being part of Confcommercio (Italian General Federation of Trade, Tourism and Services).

This portal is being financed and supported by the Lombardy Region Government. Lom bardy Region with more than 700,000 based enterprises boosts the highest GDP of Italy and Europe, making it one of the most active commercial regions of the continent.

"Our partnership with Alibaba.com is for AICE of strategic relevance. With the creation of a new co-branded B2B channel AICE and Alibaba will offer the Italian companies new market world reach with alibaba international community based in over 200 countries. Moreover the partnership will contribute to improve business between Italian and Chinese companies through Alibaba's China suppliers service. We think Alibaba is the best international partner for us and AICE is the best partner in Italy for Alibaba thanks to its experience and knowledge of Italian companies and market" said Claudio Rotti, President, AICE.

"The Italian community is already one of our most loyal membership bases and our partnership with AICE is the ideal partner to help us strengthen our services for businesses in Italy" said Jack Ma, Alibaba CEO. "With China entering WTO, the timing of this partnership couldn't be better for China Suppliers wanting to meet buyers in Italy."



About AICE

AICE is a non-profit entrepreneurial association which, for over 50 years, has been working to promote business relations between Italy and the rest of the world. AICE represents Italian companies that are committed predominantly to commercial activities abroad: trading, export, import, counter trade, buying-offices, export management, small and medium enterprises, etc; as well as the services related to such activities.

Thanks to years of accrued experience and its consistently up-to-date organizational structure, AICE is a strategic gateway for foreign companies interested in either exporting their products to Italy, or importing Italian products.

AICE supports foreign companies interested in the Italian market by assisting them with the search for potential Italian business partners, (suppliers, buyers, distributors, agents and so on), offering a consolidated wealth of professionalism, contacts and knowledge.

In addition to being a member of the Unione del Commercio del Turismo e dei Servizi della Provincia di Milano (Union of Trade, Tourism and Services in the Province of Milan), and Confcommercio (Italian Confederation of Trade Tourism and Services), AICE is a member of CITHA (Confederation of International Trading Houses Associations).

For further details, please contact: David Doninotti at info@AICEbiz.com.


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 800,000 registered members from over 200 countries. Alibaba.com was selected by Forbes magazine as "Best of the Web: B2B" and selected as the world's best B2B site 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).

For more information about Alibaba.com please contact Porter Erisman at porter@alibaba-inc.com.