Alibaba.com Board of Directors Elects New Member; Increases Significantly Percentage of Independent Directors

HONG KONG, December 19,2008 – The Board of Directors of Alibaba.com (HKSE: 1688; 1688.HK), the world's leading business-to-business e-commerce company, today elected a veteran businessman with e-commerce experience as a new independent, non-executive director. The board also re-designated an existing non-executive director, also an experienced e-commerce executive, as an independent director. As a result, the board announced, more than one-third of Alibaba.com directors will now be independent non-executive directors.

The Board elected Savio Kwan as an independent, non-executive director, as well as member of the company's audit and nomination committees, effective immediately. The Board also voted, upon the recommendation of the nomination committee, to re-designate Andrew Tsuei, an existing non-executive director, as an independent non-executive director, also effective immediately. Tsuei will keep his present investment management committee assignments.

"With today's decisions, the Board has not only enhanced the governance of Alibaba.com with additional independent oversight, but we have also satisfied a commitment made earlier to recruit independent directors with e-commerce experience," said Jack Ma, chairman and non-executive director of Alibaba.com and chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, holding company for Alibaba.com. "We are fortunate to have directors of the caliber of Savio Kwan and Andrew Tsuei to inform our strategies and to represent shareholder interests."

Kwan is currently a partner and chief executive officer of A&K Consulting Co., Limited, a company co-founded by him in 2005 focusing on helping small and medium enterprises and start-ups in China. He served as president and chief operating officer of Alibaba Group, now the holding company of Alibaba.com, from 2001 to 2003, and chief people officer in 2004, He has more than 30 years of global management experience, including 17 years at the Medical Systems Division of General Electric Company, during which he was responsible for sales, marketing, operations, business development and establishment of joint venture companies in Asia region. He also served as the managing director of the China operations of BTR plc, a United Kingdom- based Fortune 500 company, for four years.

Kwan was a board member of the Asia Pacific advisory board of York International Corporation, a leading global air conditioning system provider and a unit of Johnson Controls, Inc., a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. He is also a visiting executive professor of Henley Management College in the United Kingdom. Kwan received a Higher National Diploma from Cambridgeshire College of Technology in the United Kingdom and holds Master's degrees in Science from the Loughborough University of Technology and London Graduate School of Business Studies in the United Kingdom.

He will serve until Alibaba's next general meeting of shareholders, and will then stand for election by the shareholders at that time.

Tsuei was appointed as a non-executive director of the Company on October 12, 2007. He was formerly senior vice-president of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. From 2001 to 2007, he was managing director of Wal-Mart's Global Procurement Division, where he oversaw the global procurement operations of Wal-Mart, which has a presence in over 30 countries. Tsuei is also an independent non-executive director of Tao Bao Holding Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group.

Kwan will assume memberships on the Company's audit committee and nomination committee, replacing Long Yong Tu, who will remain on the Company's Board as an independent non-executive director. In addition, the Board announced that, with effect from today, Simon Xie, a founder of Alibaba Group, will resign as an executive director of Alibaba.com as he takes on other responsibilities within Alibaba Group.

"We thank Mr. Long for his contribution to the audit committee and nomination committee and look forward to continuing to receive his guidance on key business issues, particularly in the areas of international trade and globalization. We'd also like to thank Simon for his tireless dedication to the Company for the past 10 years," Ma said.

Effective immediately, the Board will now consist of 13 members, including five independent non-executive directors, up from three previously.
About Alibaba.com Limited

Alibaba.com Limited (HKSE:1688)(HK.1688) is the world's leading B2B e-commerce company. It connects millions of buyers and suppliers from around the world every day through three marketplaces: an English-language marketplace (alibaba.com) for global importers and exporters, a Chinese-language marketplace (alibaba.com.cn) for domestic trade in China, and, through a joint venture, a Japanese-language marketplace (alibaba.co.jp) facilitating trade to and from Japan. Together, its marketplaces form a community of 36 million registered users from over 240 countries and regions. Headquartered in Hangzhou, Alibaba.com has offices in more than 30 cities across mainland China as well as in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Europe and the United States.

Source: http://news.alibaba.com/

Craft exporters bank on designs and innovation

While the world’s financial markets stumble, Philippine exporters from the home and fashion lifestyle sectors are banking on design and innovation to overcome the crisis.

As support to Filipino exporters, Manila F.A.M.E. International (now on going at the SMC Convention Center), a government-led trade platform will re-launch the Katha Awards, a recognition for design excellence given to manufacturers and exporters.

Over the years since its inception, the Katha Award recognized close to 300 SMEs whose product designs provided a definitive mark to Philippine design in the global market. The Katha Award likewise became the stepping stone for a number of previous awardees to receive international recognition in international fairs held in Beijing, Milan, London, Paris, Seoul, and Dubai.

“Foreign buyers recognize Katha and we were able to get more buyers after winning the Award. Despite the slowdown in US markets due to the global financial crisis, the Europeans are still keen on Philippine design,” said Mr. Robert Locsin, general manager of Locsin International, a regular exhibitor of Manila F.A.M.E. Locsin International was awarded the Katha Awards in 1992-1995 and then 2007.

“The Award encouraged us to come up with better designs that will live up to the expectations of winning the Katha. Getting the recognition also helped boost the design capabilities of the Philippines unmatched by our Asian counterparts,” Mr. Locsin added.

Another exporter and exhibitor of Manila F.A.M.E. Dr. Romeo Balderrama Jr., CEO of Sarilinlikha Novelties said that Philippine design is still what gives local products the edge and the Katha recognition further solidifies this image. “We were recognized by foreign buyers and although there is a financial crisis, it should not dampen our spirits. Many foreign buyers still recognize Philippine design to be great and excellent.”

“No less than the foreign buying agents of the Philippines had described Philippine design-driven products as recession-proof because of their design. As tribute to our manufacturers, we decided to re-launch Katha, a recognition for design excellence so that Filipino manufacturers will appreciate better the value of quality design and craftsmanship to differentiate themselves from the rest of the world,” said Manila F.A.M.E. project director and CITEM Deputy Executive Director for Consumer Business, Thelma Dumpit Murillo.

Manila F.A.M.E. will also feature players from the local creative industries including designers engaged in fashion design, industrial design, product design, interior design, architecture design, visual arts, photography, illustration, and graphic design as well as schools and institutions supporting them.

The show will also feature a special setting for Philippine fashion to highlight local labels and fashion accessories from established and up and coming Filipino designers. The setting is in collaboration with the newly formed Philippine Garments and Textiles Development Office.

“We want to show small businesses how they can use design as leverage to become more profitable,” added Dumpit-Murillo.

The Katha Award under Manila F.A.M.E. will have a new feature, the Eco-Luxury Award category for Filipino companies who use recyclable or sustainable alternative materials in product and packaging while upholding world-class aesthetic quality.

Manila F.A.M.E. is led by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM). The show will be held at the SMX Convention Center.

To date, Manila F.A.M.E. is the only made show in the Philippines accredited by the Union des Foires Internationale, an international organization of trade show organizers based in Paris. The show attracts 3,000 foreign buyers every year from buying countries namely Spain, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Germany, Australia, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Source: http://mb.com.ph/

B2B marketers stick to strategies despite recession

The majority (61%) of B2B marketers have not changed marketing strategy despite the currrent recession, according to new research.

The research conducted by marketing automation leader Eloqua at the recent Technology for Marketing & Advertising conference in London highlights key trends for the B2B marketing industry and challenges preventing its growth.

Budget cuts (40 percent), a lack of industry understanding (19 percent) and lack of integration between teams (17 percent) are highlighted as key challenges that must be overcome if the industry is to succeed in the recession.

Interestingly, the majority of respondents surveyed believe that nurturing and converting sales inquiries into qualified leads is more important than generating new leads in B2B marketing campaigns.

Notably, half of respondents currently have a marketing automation system in place, but only 6 percent of respondents named raw lead generation as the most important component of their sales and marketing campaign.

The survey also discovered that a third of the marketers didn’t know how many of their marketing leads turn into buyers, while more than 75 percent said more effective measurement would make their business more competitive.

The results support the strategies outlined in Eloqua’s new whitepaper entitled “The Springboard Effect,” which details the importance of increasing conversion rates through the marketing and sales pipeline and how businesses can leverage marketing automation techniques to enhance ROI from sales and marketing campaigns and emerge stronger after a recession.

“During economic downturns, far too many organisations spend time agonizing over where to cut back in order to recession-proof their business. Historically, the budget axe would often strike hardest in marketing because of its perceived function as a pure cost center,” said Brian Kardon, chief marketing office, Eloqua.

“The results from our survey reinforce what many of today’s business leaders understand – never before has it been more important for marketing organizations to invest in solutions that enable them to better understand and track their prospects’ ‘Digital Body Language.’ Programmes and processes that manage, nurture, automate and deliver a greater number of qualified leads to sales are invaluable in protecting and growing the bottom line,” Kardon added.

Eloqua’s survey also found that 41 percent of marketing executives reported that their sales and marketing organisations are not currently aligned.

The research also highlights that email marketing is set to be the biggest growth channel for B2B marketers in 2009, followed by direct mail and real time lead generation.

For more examples of how businesses can strategically optimize their marketing and sales activities to create a competitive advantage, download a free copy of “The Springboard Effect” whitepaper at http://www.eloqua.com/resources/whitepapers/springboard_effect_recession_marketing.html.

Source: http://www.netimperative.com/

Nine Steps to Building a B2B Business Case

Putting together a business case does not rank high on most IT executives' list of favorite activities. But given the new emphasis on governance and corporate decision-making, the ability to put together a compelling business case is now a core competency. Justifying a strategic B2B initiative that reaches beyond the organization's four walls is especially critical. It encompasses integrating your major information systems to give your company the secure foundation it needs to collaborate effectively with customers, partners and suppliers. With so much at stake, the business case will come under rigorous scrutiny from senior executives and business managers at your company. Fortunately, you can significantly increase your chances of getting approval if you follow these nine steps to building a B2B business case.

Source: whitepapers