E-commerce giant Alibaba is planning to boost its presence in member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 13^th China-ASEAN Expo on Sunday, Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma stated that the company would "participate in the development of local small- and medium-sized enterprises and young people." The expo is being held in Nanning, Guangxi province. It would run from Sunday to Wednesday.

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Ma is currently charting a global course for his business. Over the last couple of months, Alibaba has increasingly gained clout and foothold in diverse markets. According to Xinhua, Ma has stated that world trade and the global economy would benefit greatly from the participation of young people. He stressed that small businesses should form an integral part of the ongoing globalization process.

Ma's focus on ASEAN investment is likely to attract wide attention. Earlier this year, Alibaba acquired a controlling stake in Singapore-based Lazada Group. The deal was estimated to be worth $1 billion. Lazada is an e-commerce company and is active in six countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore. The company also operates in Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

Alibaba has received a positive response from ASEAN countries. According to Global Times, Indonesian President Joko Widodo asked Ma to act as an e-commerce adviser on a government committee while visiting Alibaba's offices in Zhejiang Province.

China and ASEAN have strong trade ties. In the past 25 years, the volume of trade between both sides has grown by 58 times. However, the first eight months of this year showed some cooling in the trend with a 7.3 percent drop on a year-on-year basis.

TagsAlibaba, Jack Ma, Joko Widodo, Lazada Group