Alibaba plans expansion beyond mainland

Alibaba.com will soon expand into Taiwan and Hong Kong, according to the company's top executives, the Wall Street Journal reported. Alibaba's chairman, Jack Ma, announced that the company is discussing a possible deal with Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer by revenue, which currently holds a 0.3% stake in Alibaba. The company is expected to join forces with Yahoo Japan and Softbank and have already unveiled a trial version of Japanese-language software. Company executives also mentioned India as a potential target for future expansion. Alibaba's chief executive, David Wei, said the company's top priority was growing its constomer base. The e-commerce company, which is partially owned by Yahoo, recently raised US$1.5 billion on the Hong Kong stock exchange.