Alibaba plans to open its first Canadian office in Vancouver and to hire at least 30 employees within two or three years.
Steve Wang, general manager of Alibaba Group North America, announced the news at a forum held in Vancouver, local newspaper Business in Vancouver reported on Monday.
The report said that staff in the future Vancouver office will likely work to help Canadian entrepreneurs understand and access Alibaba's platforms, as well as to link tourism-related businesses with Alibaba's online travel platform Fliggy.
The announcement follows an agreement between the Canadian federal government and Alibaba in 2016, which resulted in a surge in the number of Canadian businesses using Alibaba at that time.