Chinese online retail giant Alibaba is coming to Australia Internet John McDuling When US internet giants mention Australia in passing - let alone actually visit the country or establish operations here - they are usually showered with media coverage. But when China's most valuable internet company Alibaba announced plans to open an office in Australia last week, it barely registered a whimper. 
Alibaba, the e-commerce colossus that processed transactions worth $US149billion ($190billion) in the   December quarter alone, said at an event in Hangzhou last week it would open an Australian office "later this year".
And Fairfax Media has learnt it has already made one senior hire for that office: James Hudson, the chief executive of the NSW branch of the Australia-China Business Council, will join the business next month. John O'Loghlen, a New Zealand-born entrepreneur, has also joined the company, it said this week.
It is a significant development for the Australian retail sector.
Alibaba, founded by entrepreneur Jack Ma and listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a market value of nearly $US200billion, has had a senior executive, Maggie Zhou, in charge of the Australia and New Zealand region for at least two years. But she travels between China and Australia and has been based primarily in Hangzhou.
The company signalled the move to establish an Australian office was designed to help local brands tap into the gigantic Chinese market, where Alibaba has 407million active buyers on its platforms.
However, the decision to establish a fully fledged office in Australia will fuel speculation it sees an opportunity for Australian consumers to buy products on its sites.
"We see a lot of potential in the Australian market as Alibaba continues its globalisation efforts," the company said.
"We aim to have dedicated country operations to work closely with Australian merchants and partners, and it is our plan to establish an office in Australia in late 2016 to better help local brands and merchants to access the Chinese consumer market."
Australia ranked as the fifth-top- selling country into China during the company's global shopping festival last year, Alibaba said.
Last year, Alibaba said it would expand into France, Germany and Italy. It has already established a foothold in the US.