May 14, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China's Alibaba.com Ltd<1688>, the world's largest online B2B marketplace, announced on Wednesday that it has formed a strategic partnership with Turkish software developer Logo Group to expand its businesses in Turkey, Reuters reported.

Under the partnership, Logo will sell Alibaba's Gold Supplier membership to small and medium-sized enterprises in Turkey. Moreover, the Turkish company and its corporate social networking site Diyalogo will help promote the Alibaba brand in the country.

Alibaba has already attracted about 200,000 registered users in Turkey, and its user base in the country jumped nearly 75% in 2008.

Arthur Chang, Alibaba's vice president of global sales, said in the statement that Turkey is a strategically important country because it is a large manufacturing base for Europe and forms a key trade link between East and West.

Alibaba earlier this month said it would raise fees for global members, who currently account for only 2% of the company's revenue, by a factor of five on Jun. 15 as part of a plan to offer better services. The company aims to attract more members who are eager to take advantage of higher-quality services to run their businesses over the Internet.