The Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) has teamed up with giant e-commerce, Alibaba.com to develop the industry in the country.

MATRADE Sabah director, A. Rashid Mohd Zain said that the government has also established the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) to provide more opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to expand their market globally through e-commerce.

According to him, DFTZ aims to double the growth rate of SMEs' goods export to US$38 billion by 2025 while creating 60,000 jobs at the same time.

He said that DFTZ also aims to facilitate US$65 billion worth of goods' movement by 2025.

Speaking at the briefing session on opportunities to expand your market through e-commerce: Alibaba.com at the Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCCI) building on Wednesday (20 September), he said that Alibaba was selected as the agency's partner based on its strengths.

"With US$547 million gross merchandise value, Alibaba.com is bigger than Amazon and Ebay combined.

"During the peak period last year, Alibaba.com's gross merchandise value recorded at US$17.8 billion on a single day, and in 2015, it shipped US$30 million worth of packages per day" he said.

Meanwhile, KKCCCI president, Datuk Michael Lui Yen Sang said that the DFTZ is one of the government's efforts in readying the nation to face the challenges and potential business opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

"Our purpose of organising this briefing is to create awareness among our business communities regarding the importance of E-commerce and provide a platform for KKCCCI members to participate in Alibaba.com" he said. MARTRADE and Alibaba are aiming at recruiting 1,500 SMEs to sign up with Alibaba.com.