Alibaba Cloud's Leo Liu addresses the summit's audience. Photo credit: Alibaba Group
This week, Alibaba Group’s cloud computing unit hosted industry and government leaders in Hong Kong to discuss the opportunities afforded by cloud technology in the private and public sectors.
In other news, cross-border retail marketplace AliExpress signed four Digital Consumer Rights Commitments, part of the European Union’s Consumer Protection Pledge.
Alibaba Cloud’s Summit in Hong Kong
Executives gathered at Alibaba Cloud’s annual conference in Hong Kong this week to talk about public cloud products and services that the cloud computing business is offering in the territory.
During the summit, Alibaba Cloud named a few new Hong Kong government departments and businesses it is working with to help them strengthen public cloud capabilities and expand into China’s Greater Bay Area.
“With the support of Alibaba Cloud, we can further empower NGOs, big and small, to maximize their social impact,” said Hong Kong Council of Social Service’s Chief Executive Chua Hoi Wai.
Alibaba Cloud’s push in Hong Kong aligns with Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s 2023 policy address, which outlines the ambition to be the base for foreign enterprises tapping into mainland China’s market and be a launchpad for mainland enterprises expanding abroad.
“Leveraging AI technologies and public cloud capabilities, we enable our customers to benefit from more scalable and high-performance public cloud services,” said Leo Liu, Vice President of International Business, and General Manager of Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Philippines, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.
AliExpress Commits to Strengthening Consumer Protection in EU
AliExpress signed the Digital Consumer Rights Commitments this week, part of the European Commission’s Consumer Protection Pledge, which provides more mechanisms for customers to exercise their rights.
It joined a growing group of online platforms in the European Union taking voluntary pledges to ensure safety and transparency for e-commerce shoppers.
These range from strengthening consumer review policies to greater disclosure of commercial agreements for influencer marketing. They will come into effect from July next year.
“By signing this pledge today, we demonstrate our continued determination to protect customers that shop with AliExpress and reaffirm our commitment to cooperate with the European Commission, as well as market surveillance authorities and consumer associations, to enhance product and consumer safety online,” said Eric Pelletier, Vice President and Head of International Government Relations at Alibaba Group.
The initiative builds on a Product Safety Pledge launched in 2018 by the European Commission, to which AliExpress was one of four founding signatories.
Herman Miller Pursues Growth in China on Tmall
American interior design brand Herman Miller is building a home for itself on Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platform Tmall.
The Michigan-based furniture company, known for its ergonomic chairs and modern touches, partnered with Tmall in 2013 to engage Chinese consumers.
Alibaba-Backed Africa’s Business Heroes Competition Unveils 2023 Winners
Africa’s Business Heroes entrepreneurship contest has crowned the continent’s top start-ups for 2023 from Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt.
Out of more than 27,000 applicants in 2023, judges selected Ikpeme Neto from Nigeria as the Grand Prize winner, followed by Kenyan Thomas Njeru and Egypt’s Ayman Bazaraa in second and third place, respectively.
Q&A: LVMH’s CIO on Giving Luxury Retail a Digital Makeover
The French luxury house has partnered with Alibaba Cloud since 2019 to reshape online luxury retail with digital intelligence and AI at all stages of the customer journey, and inject greater agility and resilience into the supply chain.
We caught up with Franck le Moal, Group IT Director and CIO of LVMH, to hear how LVMH embraces technology-enhanced retail.
Watch the interview or read the transcript
Alibaba Joins the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Alibaba has joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a group of over 200 businesses, to support its drive to make global value chains more sustainable.
WBCSD and Alibaba will start by collaborating on climate action, particularly in finding innovative ways to leverage Alibaba’s platforms for broad decarbonization. It will also work with WBCSD members on avoided emissions, that is, emission savings outside of a company’s own value chain.
Alibaba Health Profits Up 172% YoY Boosted by Improved Product Offerings
Hong Kong-listed digital healthcare platform Alibaba Health recorded RMB445.1 million ($63 million) in profit for the six months ending Sept. 30, the company said on Wednesday.
The day before, the company announced the purchase of marketing tools from Taobao will allow the platform to “optimize healthcare merchants’ marketing efficiency and return on investment,” it noted in an exchange filing.
