Ma from Alibaba, visiting New York, claims that there is no competition in America

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd does not want to fight for U.S. market share but instead hopes to help small U.S. companies sell more goods in China, executive chairman Jack Ma said. Ma is traveling to the United States this week to explain Alibaba’s global strategy and “help dispel misconceptions” about the company, spokesman Greg Jenkins said in an email. “We don’t come here to compete,” Ma told the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday. The vast majority of Alibaba’s revenue comes from its dominant domestic online markets, but the company is investing aggressively in a range of sectors abroad. Still, it has taken a conservative approach to expansion in the United States, despite industry speculation that it may be planning a direct assault on U.S. soil after a record $25 billion IPO in September. Ma said he is regularly asked when Alibaba will “invade” America and do battle with Amazon.com Inc and Ebay Inc. Last year, the company debuted on a small U.S. direct-to-consumer website, 11Main.com, a collection of online storefronts for smaller businesses. “For us, the opportunity and strategy is to help small businesses in America reach out to China and sell their products there,” Ma said. Alibaba’s future lies in building e-commerce infrastructure outside China, he said. In the first three months of the year, Alibaba’s China trade revenue rose 39 percent to $2.2 billion. International trade grew 27 percent to $264 million and accounted for just 9 percent of revenue compared with 11 percent in the same period a year earlier. Alibaba says some of its larger overseas markets include Brazil and Russia. The company and its affiliates also have operations in India. (Reporting by Eric Effron and Anjali Athavaley; writing by John Ruwitch; editing by Stephen Coates)