Alibaba, the largest online business-to-business trading platform in the world, is looking to replicate its huge success in China in other markets. The site is designed to help small-medium sized businesses find suppliers in China and hopes to expand this to other markets – initially the US, India and Japan.

Alibaba has recently launched AliExpress which enables users to buy items online, and with no minimum order value, serves both retail and wholesale customers equally well. It has seen incredible success in China however some are sceptical of how it will fare in other markets, where it does not possess the same local knowledge and deep understanding of the users. It is definitely one to watch.