Alipay is widening its global reach. (Photo : Getty Images)
Ant Financial, the financial company owned by Jack Ma, is anticipating that Alibaba's Single's Day will be bigger than last year's.
The financial company forecasted that to top 2015's roughly $14 billion as domestic consumption is still strong despite the sluggish Chinese economy.
Single's Day is an event of Alibaba held on November 11 where online products and foreign brands are featured on the site. The online shopping marathon will run for 24 hours.
"We have our partners and employees working around the clock in anticipation of 11/11 this year. We expect and we hope it to be even bigger than last year," said Douglas Feagin, head of Ant's international operations.
He added, "We have many more merchants and products and service available on the platforms, and I can tell you that many are in the advanced stages of planning."
Alibaba is aggressively competing for the in the global market. Alipay is now accepted by more than 80,000 off-line retailers around the world, according to Feagin.
At present, there are 10 international airports who have Alipay payment facilities.
Keith Anderson, vice-president of strategy and insights at the Boston research firm Profitero, said, "Alibaba is a pathway for growth for American and European brands."
In last year's event, various international brands like Nike and Levi's participated. Analysts observed that the event was a success, but cautioned to use it as a measure for the health of the economy.
Gil Luria, an analyst at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, said, "Single's Day was a big success for Alibaba. However, I do not believe we can extrapolate from that strength to the entire Chinese economy."
In spite of the criticism, Jack Ma believes that the Chinese consumer will survive and that China will still be stable in the next 15 years.
