‘Cashless’ is PHL’s way to go — Jack Ma
CHINESE BILLIONAIRE and visionary Jack Ma is rooting for the Philippines’ transformation into a “cashless society” in line with his bold vision for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to become the company of this century.
Mr. Ma, who was in Manila on Wednesday to receive an honorary doctorate degree and address a forum organized by students of De La Salle University, promised to “keep investing” in the Philippines as Alibaba makes inroads in markets like Southeast Asia.
By 2036, the world’s biggest e- commerce operator aims to serve two billion people, generate 100 million jobs and support 10 million profitable businesses across its platforms — enough to become the world’s fifth-largest “economy,” Mr. Ma said in a briefing after the forum.
“( Alibaba) should be the engine of innovation of the world in this century,” the 53-year-old Mr. Ma said.
As the technology giant looks beyond its home turf for growth, Alibaba wants to focus on building the infrastructure that will allow e- commerce to take off in the Philippines, particularly through the growth of online market places, development of “sophisticated” mobile payments systems and improvement of logistics systems.
“This is the only (priority) in the next three to five years,” said Mr. Ma, the world’s 23rd wealthiest man according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated net worth of $38.3 billion.
“We should make the Philippines a cashless society. Cashless society ( means) no corruption, life is easy.”
The upside is huge for companies engaged in e-commerce like Alibaba since online purchases in the Philippines now make up
only less than one percent of total retail sales — the lowest among the six largest markets in Southeast Asia, according to a report by market research firm eMarketer.
For its expansion outside China, Alibaba is betting big on Southeast Asia, a region of considerable diversity with a promising market of around 600 million people.
The Chinese behemoth jacked up to $2 billion its investment in online retailer Lazada last July to secure a majority interest in the Singapore-based company, which operates in six markets, including the Philippines.
Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, entered into a strategic partnership with Globe Telecom, Inc. for financial technology venture Mynt in February.
“We are different from the other Internet companies. When we come here, the first thing we do is look for partners and enable them to be successful,” Mr. Ma said.
Alibaba is not in a rush to make money from these ventures.
“We do not expect we’ll be successful next year: we think in five to eight years,” Mr. Ma said.
“In Southeast Asia — with Lazada and (shopping app) AliExpress — honestly, I don’t see any money going back in five years,” he added, recalling: “Luckily, we made a lot of money in China.”
The technology entrepreneur likes what he sees in the Philippines, with its population of more than 100 million, high mobile phone penetration rate and a large pool of micro, small and medium enterprises that make up 99.5% of all registered businesses, providing the key ingredients to create a marketplace where small businesses can flourish.
In the forum, Mr. Ma said technology has the potential to make an impact in inclusive finance given that two-thirds of Filipinos are unbanked and a tenth of the population works overseas.
“So many Filipinos serve the people around the world. They send money back and the cost is too expensive,” he said.
“How can we make sure the money they make, they can send home at zero cost?”
Slow Internet speed has long been tagged as an obstacle to the growth of e- commerce in the country, but while connection here is “no good,” Mr. Ma pointed out that Alibaba started its business when Internet speed in China was “much worse than today’s Philippines.”
“Honestly, its unfair to blame anyone,” he said.
“Where is the opportunity? Opportunity exists in areas where most people complain. It’s an opportunity for telcos to invest.”
As the Internet disrupts the way businesses operate, Mr. Ma said the “old economy” should not fear, but must immediately embrace change to survive.
“Change quickly. It is not the competitor that’s killing you. It is the future killing you,” he said.
In the face of threat from artificial intelligence, Mr. Ma believes Filipinos have what it takes to ride out the impact of automation.
“It takes centuries to build that, the heart to serve people,” he said.
“The Philippines has great talent and great capabilities. No other country in the world has that.”