Online venture targets Chinese tourists
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Online venture targets Chinese tourists

KBank chairman  Banthoon Lamsam  (centre), King  Power Group  chairman Vichai  Srivaddhanaprabha  (right) and Alipay  Southeast Asia  vice-president  Zhang Dayong  have teamed up to  launch an online  duty-free shop.
KBank chairman Banthoon Lamsam (centre), King Power Group chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha (right) and Alipay Southeast Asia vice-president Zhang Dayong have teamed up to launch an online duty-free shop.

Kasikornbank (KBank), King Power and Alipay, the largest online payment service provider in China, have joined forces to widen opportunities in China's e-commerce market.

The value of the country's e-commerce jumped strongly last year, by 21.3%.

Under this concerted effort, an online duty-free shopping platform will be introduced to serve the more than 4 million Chinese tourists visit Thailand each year.

The new online shop will be connected to the K-Payment Gateway service, allowing incoming Chinese tourists to select merchandise at KingPowerOnline.com and make payments using an Alipay account.

The full service is expected to be launched next month.

KBank chairman Banthoon Lamsam said the cooperation reinforced the bank's digital banking leadership with enhanced cross-border solutions offered by the K-Payment Gateway service.

The service will promote online commerce in the global arena and offer greater opportunities for Thai businesses offering goods to Chinese internet shoppers, he said.

The service will also feature a payment facility through Alipay, which has more than 300 million registered users.

"The skyrocketing growth of online trade has been supported by the development of the digital economy, wherein greater access to the internet infrastructure is crucial for interconnectivity within the economic system," Mr Banthoon said.

With the K-Payment Gateway service, KBank hopes to upgrade Thailand's online businesses to the global level.

The service reported a combined transaction value of 66 billion baht last year, gaining the top position in terms of market share.

It is expected to grow by 22% to reach a total of 80 billion baht this year, Mr Banthoon said.

Zhang Dayong, Alipay's vice-president for Southeast Asia, said the cooperation would help Alipay to enhance Thai businesses' knowledge and understanding of the Chinese market.

In return, the partnership will likely boost Alipay's online and mobile payment service offered to Chinese consumers as well as Thai companies, for the mutual benefit of all parties.

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