The WSJ reports,"for the past few months, Alibaba has been going around the world — France, Australia, Singapore and Italy to name a few–signing agreements with governments and logistics providers to attract more overseas merchants to its Chinese online marketplaces.
In the latest, Alibaba said Friday it will team up with Correios, Brazil’s state-owned postal services company, to help the country’s small businesses sell their products in China through Alibaba’s websites using its Alipay electronic payment system.
The partnership with Correios is an attempt to make more Brazilian businesses aware of Alibaba’s services. From the Brazilian government’s perspective, Alibaba could provide local businesses with better access to China’s vast consumer market. Alibaba said it will work with Correios to improve the logistics procedures between Brazil and China, without providing details.
Last month, Alibaba said it signed an agreement with the government of Italy to simplify the procedures for Italian retailers to sell their products on Alibaba’s Tmall. In May, Alibaba reached a similar agreement with the government of France.
Also in May, Alibaba announced a deal to buy a minority stake in Singapore Post, the city-state’s main postal service, for roughly $250 million. Alibaba and Singapore Post also agreed to create a joint venture to provide logistics services. That deal came just a day after Alibaba partnered with Australia Post to help Australian merchants sell goods to Chinese customers using Alipay".
