Alibaba opens branches in Germany, France

A cyclist rides past a signboard of Alibaba Group in Hangzhou city, East China's Zhejiang province, June 25, 2014. [Photo/IC]

HANGZHOU - China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has opened offices in Munich and Paris as the company seeks to expand imports from Europe, according to a company statement Tuesday.

Alibaba announced Terry von Bibra, who worked for Amazon and Yahoo, as chief of its German branch. Sebastien Badault, former employee of Amazon and Google, will head the French office, according to the statement.

Alibaba has offices in four European countries -- Britain, France, Germany and Italy. The London office is the regional headquarters.

The move will help build a supply chain of European goods so that Chinese consumers can purchase them at reasonable prices, the statement said.

The company's European strategy is to help European brands, retailers and government organizations understand the opportunities there, Michael Evens, president of Alibaba, said.