As mainland exports, its biggest income source, are slowing, e-commerce provider Alibaba.com is branching out into other areas but analysts are not convinced the company can rely on them as earnings drivers.
Alibaba is pinning its hopes on initiatives it has developed over the past years, such as a site targeting domestic markets, services helping overseas firms to tap mainland consumers and expansion in other markets.
'We started the domestic market six year ago,' said chairman Jack Ma. 'It is growing very fast.'
Sales at its domestic trade focus Chinese site, which accounts for about 36 per cent of total revenue, surged 87 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier. Paid members of its 'TrustPass', a service for domestic market, rose 46 per cent and on average they paid 22 per cent more.
Other services such as 'WinPort', a Web-hosting service targeting small and medium-sized enterprises on the mainland, was launched in April. 'TrustPass for Individual', a recently launched paid membership for entrepreneurs who have not formally registered their companies, has already drawn more than 10,000 members.
'Export to China', a service to help small overseas enterprises to sell to the mainland, has more than 1,700 registered members.
