Paris, France, 26th April 2007

CIES – The Food Business Forum is proud to announce that David Wei, President, Alibaba.com has confirmed that he will be speaking on June 22nd at the World Food Business Summit on 'The individualisation of consumption – Communicating with lives lived in motion. How technology and new media are re-inventing the way consumers live, think and act'.

This unique event will tackle the theme “Mapping the New Silk Road” from the 20th to the 22nd June 2007 in Shanghai.

David Wei will address more than 700 CEOs from the retail sector gathered for the event at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel, in Shanghai.

Mr Wei’s presentation will address the opportunities and threats of e-commerce. He will provide insights on how traditional retailers can use e-commerce to improve their sourcing and margins and show how all retailers can become more competitive through better sourcing. 

David Wei will join almost 30 of the most successful and well-respected figures in retail worldwide. Other speakers at the Summit, include, Dr. Hans-Joachim Körber, CEO & Chairman of the Management Board, Metro Group; José Luis Duran, Chairman of the Management Board, Carrefour; Jacques Levy, CEO Worldwide, Sephora; Samuel A. Dipiazza Jr., Global CEO, PricewaterhouseCoopers; Kian Chew Tan, Group CEO, NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Limited, Singapore; Jeffrey M. Ettinger, Chairman, President and CEO, Hormel Foods; Michael D. White, Chief Executive Officer, Pepsico International & Vice Chairman Pepsico; Michael T. Duke, Vice Chairman, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

For over 50 years the Summit has been the “annual rendez-vous” of food business leaders who understand that anticipating the future is the key to success.

About Alibaba.com

As a member of the Alibaba Group, Alibaba.com is the leading B2B e-commerce company in China. Our international marketplace for global importers and exporters (www.alibaba.com) and our China marketplace for suppliers and buyers trading domestically in China (www.alibaba.com.cn) are collectively the most-visited B2B marketplaces on the Internet in terms of user traffic. Alibaba.com provides effective B2B e-commerce solutions to SMEs around the world.

Alibaba's operational headquarters is based in Hangzhou in eastern China and we have 16 sales and service centers across China, as well as offices in Hong Kong and the United States. The company had more than 3,500 full-time employees as of December 31, 2006.

About CIES

The Food Business Forum is the only independent global food business network. It serves the CEOs and senior management of nearly 400 members, in over 150 countries, with retailers being the largest single group.

Providing a platform for knowledge-exchange, thought-leadership and networking, CIES has been growing with the food business for over 50 years. Its strength lies in the active commitment of its member companies and its privileged access to key industry players which allows the organisation to facilitate the development of common positions and tools on key strategic and practical issues affecting the food business.