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Alibaba seeks growth in Mongolia with new e-commerce platform selling Chinese goods from wholesale marketplace 1688.com

  • ShoppyHub.mn, launched in partnership with Mongolian tech group Intelmind, will offer products from 1688.com’s merchant network
  • Alibaba is expanding its overseas e-commerce operations amid weak consumer sentiment at home

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A view of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital. Photo: Shutterstock
Ann Caoin Shanghai
Alibaba Group Holding is expanding its business foothold in Mongolia, as the Chinese e-commerce giant’s wholesale marketplace 1688.com joins forces with local technology group Intelmind to launch a new platform.
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The new online marketplace, ShoppyHub.mn, aims to offer “millions of products” sourced from 1688.com’s merchant network, providing Mongolian consumers and business clients with products from Chinese manufacturers, Intelmind said in a statement on Wednesday announcing the strategic partnership.

The site will allow online shoppers in Mongolia to consolidate purchases from other regions into a single order and delivery, with most packages reaching customers in seven to 10 days, according to Intelmind.

The collaboration comes as Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, banks on 1688.com as a new growth engine. CEO Eddie Wu Yongming, who took the reins last September, has planned for the platform to undergo “strategic-level innovation” to “face the larger market with [its] own strategies”.
Launched in 1999 when Alibaba was established, 1688.com is one of the company’s earliest e-commerce platforms. Photo: Handout
Launched in 1999 when Alibaba was established, 1688.com is one of the company’s earliest e-commerce platforms. Photo: Handout
Alibaba has recently started selling some 1688.com products on Taobao, its flagship consumer-facing online shopping platform, to tap a wider pool of users and test products in a larger market.
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