阿里巴巴美国站 Alibaba to launch US e-commerce website

Alibaba Group is set to launch a U.S. e-commerce website through its subsidiaries Vendio and Auctiva. Alibaba has been ramping up its international expansion with various acquisitions, including a roughly 200 million US dollar investment in U.S. retail site ShopRunner Incorporated. At the same time Alibaba is gearing up for an expected public offering later this year. Some analysts expect the company will be valued at around 140 billion US dollars. Earlier, Alibaba announced it is planning to buyout Nasdaq-listed digital mapping and navigation firm AutoNavi. The proposed deal to buy AutoNavi for 21 dollars per share would make it a fully-owned subsidiary of Alibaba. For more on Alibaba's expansion strategy, we are now joined lived by Benjamin Cavender, Associate principal at China Market Research in Shanghai. Questions 1. What's your take on the motivations and strategy behind Alibaba's expansion in the US market? 2. There are rumors Alibaba is eyeing a listing on the New York stock exchange. If so how do you think global investors will react? Will a public offer of the world's largest online retailer be appealing? 3. Alibaba is beyond successful here in China. How can the e-commerce giant apply its domestic experience to overseas markets? 4. The battle between Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu is a heated one. How will competition between the three giants be affected by Alibaba's overseas expansion. How does the competition affect China's e-commerce and IT industry as a whole? That's Benjamin Cavender, Associate principal at China Market Research in Shanghai.