New Delhi: Alibaba Group’s wholesale trading platform Alibaba.com said on Monday, December 7, that India is one of its fastest-growing markets with about 4.5 million registered users.

The Chinese e-commerce giant  is taking the Indian market very seriously indeed. It announced the launch of a slew of services for Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) selling on Alibaba.com.

India is the second largest market for Alibaba’s business-to-business platform after China followed by the US and Europe, said Timothy Leung, head of global business development during his visit to Delhi.

“India is at a stage where e-commerce is set to kick-off and we see a huge opportunity there,” added Leung.

Alibaba.com on Monday launched an online platform SMILE, which stands for Small and Medium Industries Leveraging Export, the programme will offer solutions like financing, logistics, certifications and technology. Alibaba’s partners for the SMILE programme include companies like ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Crisil Rating, Tally, Capital Float Jeena, SGS and Mypacco, who will provide finance, credit rating, online lending, and transportation support to SMEs.

This initiative is meant for the merchants who are on Alibaba.com, the global resellers platform that was opened to Indian SMEs in July.