Alibaba to help Thailand's e-commerce development

HANGZHOU - China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Thursday signed several agreements with Thailand's Ministry of Commerce to help the southeastern Asian country develop e-commerce.

The deals were signed as Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak headed a delegation to visit Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou.

Alibaba will help small and medium-sized Thai firms expand businesses on local and international e-commerce sites, according to the deals. It will also train Thai government officials on big data and artificial intelligence.

Alibaba will help Thailand develop an efficient logistics system and explore cooperation opportunities in Thailand's eastern economic corridor.

Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba, said Thailand can create its own digital economic miracle by embracing new technology and helping its young people to develop the new economy.

In August 2015, Thailand launched a store on Alibaba's Tmall.com to sell its home brands. In November this year, Alibaba's financial affiliate Ant Financial announced a strategic investment in Thailand's payment firm Ascend Money, seeking to use its payment technology to serve more than half of Thai netizens in the next five years.