Jack Ma calls 'Open sesame!' on opportunities in Alibaba juggernaut

FROM its origins 18 years ago, Alibaba has grown to become the world's largest retailer - surpassing even US giant Walmart - while diversifying into media creation and cloud computing. Often described as the "Asian Amazon", the company's business model also replicates that of eBay, and the business is reputed to generate more gross merchandise value (GMV) than eBay and Amazon combined.

Founder Jack Ma describes Alibaba's goal as creating a global platform for small businesses everywhere to access consumers. By 2036, Alibaba hopes to serve two billion consumers, with a GMV equivalent to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the UK, the fifth-largest economy in the world.

To get there, Alibaba will need to add another 1.2 billion customers outside of its existing 800 million in China. With South-east Asia an important part of that equation, the company recently increased its stake in South-east Asia-wide e-commerce business Lazada to 83 per cent.