Alibaba’s B2B e-commerce platform eyes 20% growth in 2024, shrugs off rising competition

Alibaba.com is projecting US$60 billion in GMV this year, according to the sourcing platform’s president, who dismissed competition from PDD and ByteDance

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Alibaba is introducing new services including AI-powered features to drive growth on its flagship B2B platform. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:02pm, 6 Jun 2024Updated: 7:04pm, 6 Jun 2024

Alibaba.com, a business-to-business (B2B) cross-border e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba Group Holding, is projecting US$60 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) for 2024, which would be a 20 per cent increase over the US$50 billion last year, the platform’s president Zhang Kuo said.

The sourcing platform’s turnover growth slowed after a sevenfold increase in GMV over the previous five years, Zhang told the South China Morning Post in an interview in Hong Kong on Thursday.

“It’s quite hard to double GMV every single year due to an increasingly large base,” he said. “The core issue is about the business model, as we need to make new breakthroughs and transformations.”

Alibaba.com president Zhang Kuo attends the Greenwich Economic Forum in Central on June 6, 2024. Photo: Edmond So

Alibaba.com started in 1999 as an online yellow book to help overseas bulk buyers find Chinese manufacturers. It is now largely functioning as a transaction platform that directly links Chinese suppliers with foreign businesses. Alibaba.com is part of Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, one of the growth engines for Alibaba Group, the owner of South China Morning Post.