Hangzhou, Zhejiang China ( PRESS RELEASE )
Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif visited the headquarters of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group in the scenic Hangzhou city of China’s Zhejiang province.
The Prime Minister was received by Executive Chairman of the company Jack Ma, who founded the entity in 1999 which has now flourished as one of the world’s largest global online market.
The Prime Minister visited the Alibaba Museum wherein he was given an overview of the company’s history and profile, which earned revenue of billions of dollars, said the Executive Chairman.
The Prime Minister was apprised that besides online trade, Alibaba has also spread its network to rural economy, micro-financing, marketing, public welfare, life sciences and traffic control with 33,000 stations operating across the globe. Jack Ma said that that the company had a consumer base of around two billion besides providing jobs to 100 million people.
Alibaba’s chief told the Prime Minister that in its micro-financing business, the company had a recovery ratio of around 99 percent to which the Prime Minister remarked that smaller entities had a very low default ratio. He (PM) exemplified his government’s Yellow Cab scheme that had a recovery rate of around 94 percent.
The Prime Minister was told that Alibaba Company delivered 60 million packages across China every day and the company had a record of delivering products to the toughest locations in the world including Mount Everest. The buyers on Alibaba are located in over 200 countries.
Later, the Prime Minister was also given a detailed presentation on the company’s performance, achievements and future targets.
Speaking on the occasion the Prime Minister said that Pakistan and China enjoy the best relationship. He said that Chinese Alibaba Company is impressive and its successfully growing e-commerce economy is praiseworthy. The PM said that Pakistan is also a growing economy and the government is making all efforts for the prosperity of its people. After 2013 the economic conditions have changed in Pakistan. He further said that the purpose is to empower people and make economy of Pakistan strong. E-commerce is important for any economy these days, it ends the information gaps and save time. The PM said that Pakistan has immense potential for investors.
Later, a MoU was signed between Pakistan and Alibaba Company. Federal Minister for Commerce Mr. Khurram Dastagir Khan signed the MoU from Pakistani side. The Prime Minister witnessed the MoU signing ceremony.