Online auction unit will continue free services
Alibaba Group, the parent company of the mainland's largest e-commerce firm Alibaba.com, has said it will invest 5 billion yuan (HK$5.7 billion) in online auction unit Taobao over the next five years as it seeks to tap growing internet usage in the country.
The company also said Taobao's services would continue to be free for buyers and individual sellers.
'Today, only one-third of internet users on the mainland shop online. We believe that by continuing to offer Taobao's services for free, we can accelerate the spread of e-commerce and market growth,' said Taobao president Jonathan Lu.
Globally, 86 per cent of internet users have tried online shopping, according to a Nielsen survey this year.
Taobao has been growing rapidly since it was founded in 2003, thanks in part to chairman Jack Ma Yun's 'no-charge' policy. Mr Ma has indicated earlier that despite its free service, advertising income helped Taobao break even in August.
