The Business Times: Alibaba to Invest $1 Billion in Turkey for E-Commerce Expansion

(Image Source: Daily Sabah)

Plans are currently in place for the Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group Holding, to invest over US$1 billion across different states in Turkey, including Istanbul and Ankara. Based on the information provided by the President of Alibaba Group, Michael Evans, the company wants to establish a logistics hub at Istanbul airport and a data center near Ankara, the Turkish capital.

In a recent interview with the Sabah newspaper, Evans mentioned that the company has a serious investment plan at Istanbul Airport. From the logistics hub, the company will be able to evaluate e-export plans to Europe, the Middle East, as well as the Far East.

What’s more, Alibaba has decided to expand into Turkey due to the country’s strong production capacity. This will be a great advantage for e-commerce. These new investments will also be a vital part of Alibaba Group’s supply chain across the Middle East and Europe. In addition, investments in e-commerce and cloud-based units are likely to increase the company’s annual revenue.

Michael Evans, who was once an executive at Goldman Sachs Group, used this opportunity to urge Turkey to enhance its e-commerce regulations. This will be necessary to address some shortcomings to ensure fair competition in the e-commerce sector. Once completed, the logistics hub at Istanbul’s airport will be the biggest in the country. In addition, Alibaba Group plans to build the biggest colocation data center in Temelli near the country’s capital city of Ankara.

Over the years, Trendyol, an e-commerce platform supported by Alibaba, has become the largest startup in Turkey. While Alibaba Group appreciates the advantages of being a public company, the decision to enter the stock market in Turkey would be made by Trendyol management. Nonetheless, Alibaba will fully support Trendyol when they eventually go public as they continue to grow.

Source: Alibaba plans logistics hub at Istanbul Airport, data centre near Ankara

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