eCommerce and m-commerce heavyweight Alibaba Group is heading down under to ANZ, with plans to open a local Melbourne office in in late 2016, the company reports.

At a visit to the ANZ region last week, Alibaba Group president Michael Evans explained how companies will be able to leverage the Alibaba platform to expand its tens of millions of business customers expand to international markets.

Alibaba Group's Tmall Global site is one of the large growth areas for the 1300 Australian and numerous New Zealand businesses that sell products, but there is also potential to market to Chinese customers as demand grows, the company says.

Eighty percent of the Australian brands first entered the Chinese market through Tmall, while Alibaba Group provides planning, merchandising, sales and marketing solutions to aid growth.

Many of the biggest Australian and New Zealand companies are already using Tmall and Tmall Global, including Blackmores, Jurlique, Australia Post, Woolworths, Fonterra, Red Seal and Just Juice.

Evans also focused on how Alibaba Group's infrastructure will help global expansion, citing services and international opportunities as well as customer experience improvement.

“In Australia and New Zealand, Alibaba Group is best known for its eCommerce platforms, which are backed by our infrastructural support in areas of payment, cloud, digital entertainment and travel logistics. These services give companies the tools they need to access international consumers, while at the same time improving the experience of consumers who want to shop globally,” Evans says.

Maggie Zhou, managing director at Alibaba Australia, believes the company is in good stead for ANZ businesses looking to expand in China. As a result, there will be more focus on partnerships with government and industry, in an effort to improve and deliver services.

“With a local office and expanded team, we will be well-positioned to support Australian and New Zealand merchants already on our platforms, as well as new merchants looking to expand into China. We have an active consumer base of 423 million across our China retail platforms where they have access to authentic and quality products from countries around the world. By working together with brands and retailers, we want to be an enabling force for local businesses and entrepreneurs striving for success,” Zhou concludes.