Interview: Trendyol executive says alliance with China's Alibaba to boost Türkiye's e-export

ISTANBUL, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The strategic alliance between Türkiye's e-commerce platform Trendyol and China's Alibaba Group will greatly upgrade Turkish e-export levels in the future, a senior executive from Trendyol said.

"Partnership between Trendyol and Alibaba will bring about an increase in Türkiye's e-export in the future," Ozan Acar, an executive committee member of Trendyol, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Acar emphasized the importance of effectively utilizing e-commerce technologies in Türkiye, as it could enable hundreds of thousands of Turkish small- and medium-sized enterprises to begin exporting their products.

According to Acar, Trendyol is working closely with Alibaba to increase the presence of Turkish products on Alibaba's platforms in China, which could greatly contribute to Türkiye's efforts to boost exports to East Asian countries.

He highlighted that Trendyol's primary focus is investing in technology and logistics infrastructure to increase Türkiye's e-export revenues.

In Acar's view, Trendyol would gain valuable technology and know-how from Alibaba, while Alibaba's extensive global network would significantly contribute to the development of the Turkish e-commerce industry and the increase in Türkiye's e-export levels.

In 2018, Alibaba Group became a major shareholder of Trendyol, providing technological support and expertise for the Turkish platform.

Trendyol, with strategic investment from Alibaba, has become one of Türkiye's most valuable companies after receiving 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in new investments.

Trendyol said with a series of investment agreements, Trendyol's value had reached 16.5 billion dollars, making it the first Turkish technology firm to be recognized as a Decacorn, a term used to describe startup companies with a value exceeding 10 billion dollars.