Alibaba ambitions point to rise of private sector

E-commerce giant pushes for place among world's top business icons

In an interview late last year, Alibaba's founder Jack Ma Yun told reporters that his company would focus in 2015 on becoming China's leading corporate icon. Ma explained that he would like to see Alibaba become as synonymous with China as "Samsung with South Korea, Mercedes-Benz with Germany and Google and Apple with the US."

For Ma, realizing such an achievement would mean that more than 40 percent of Alibaba's revenues would come from overseas markets. At present though, 95 percent of Alibaba's earnings are generated in China.

Obviously, Alibaba's record-breaking IPO was not Ma's ultimate goal. He has his sights on other targets, including expansion into the US, India, East Asia and other overseas markets. Success with such goals would see Alibaba become a representative for Chinese businesses in the global enterprise system.

Ma's ambitions are realistic at the moment. In the past, China's leading corporate icons were its large State-owned enterprises (SOEs). In many people's opinions, these large well-funded enterprises were the only Chinese businesses which could stand with the likes of Mercedes-Benz or Samsung in terms of stature. However, in light of China's rapid economic development, especially in the Internet era, such opinions are outdated.

As Ma himself has said, "we need a group of the country's great corporate icons to represent … China's technology and ability to innovate." Ma's views summarize a new way of thinking that China's private companies are fully qualified to become icons of global business.

In fact, most Chinese people are very pleased to see local private enterprises grow stronger and more influential. For instance, many have been happy to see private companies surpass big State-owned banks and telecoms companies in recent rankings of the world's top businesses.

At the same time, the?global?influence?of?Chinese?private?enterprises?such?as?Alibaba?is?also?growing,?enriching people's understanding of local enterprises. Old beliefs about Chinese companies being bulky and inefficient are gradually vanishing following Alibaba's listing in the US. Other technology companies like telecommunications equipment maker Huawei and Alibaba's competitor JD.com are also becoming more influential as well.

For China, the efforts of top local companies will bring more than just favorable financial results and profits for shareholders. They will give all Chinese businesses greater speaking rights in the international market. Chinese companies are relative latecomers to the international market, which is largely dominated by Western multinationals. These businesses have largely set the rules and standards for how business is conducted around the world.

To change this predicament, China clearly needs strong companies - be they privately held or State-owned - with solid reputations in many industries. Alibaba's international profile and image is growing, but with only a small fraction of its profits coming from outside of China, this would-be icon still has plenty of room for improvement.

Not every business is cut out to become a world champion. Those that do attain global fame typically get to the top through years of hard work and struggle. It took Samsung decades to become a model for South Korean business. The same can be said for Apple. But if China's top businesses lack anything, it's not determination. With SOEs encountering barriers and prejudices in the international market, now is the time for a private enterprise to start climbing through the global business ranks.