Annual Report 2009 - Alibaba

Management Discussion and Analysis
We continued to maintain a robust fi nancial position. Driven
by strong growth in paying members, our deferred revenue,
including RMB123.8 million of deferred revenue from China
Civilink (Cayman) (“HiChina”), increased substantially to
RMB3.4 billion, representing a 49.8% growth year-over-year. We
also saw early signs of VAS usage take-up, as we expanded
the range and variety of VAS to address the needs of different
types of customers. As a result of these two factors, we
generated RMB1.8 billion of recurring free cash fl ow in 2009,
representing a 23.9% increase from the previous year. Even
after the completion of two acquisitions in the second half of
2009 and a special dividend paid out to commemorate our 10 th
anniversary, we continued to maintain a strong balance sheet
with RMB7.2 billion cash and bank balances.
International marketplace operating data
International marketplace
In 2009, the number of registered users on our international
marketplace increased by 3,663,617, or 46.3%, to reach
11,578,247 as of December 31, 2009. The number of
storefronts grew by 45.0% to 1,400,326. Our US$30 million
global marketing campaign accelerated global buyer acquisition
with about a third of our total registered user base acquired
through the campaign over the course of the year. The
increased user base contributed to increasing user traffi c and
buyer activities on our marketplace. More importantly, the
increase is a refl ection that buyers and sellers around the globe
are leveraging e-commerce more as an effective way to weather
the economic crisis.
As of December 31,
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Registered users 1,949,741 3,115,153 4,405,557 7,914,630 11,578,247
Storefronts 292,414 514,891 697,563 965,747 1,400,326
Paying members (1) 19,983 29,525 39,536 59,164 113,896
China Gold Supplier 12,192 18,682 27,384 43,028 96,110
Global Gold Supplier (2) 7,791 10,843 12,152 16,136 17,786
(1) Include paying members with active storefront listings, as well as paying members who have paid membership package subscription fees but whose
storefronts have not been activated.
(2) Product upgraded from International TrustPass to Global Gold Supplier in July 2009.
Geographic distribution of registered users (other than China) on our international marketplace as of December 31, 2009
Number of registered users Percentage of total registered users
Country or region in county or region on our international marketplace
1 United States 1,826,507 15.8%
2 India 1,274,305 11.0%
3 European Union (1) 1,039,585 9.0%
4 United Kingdom 661,293 5.7%
5 Pakistan 302,671 2.6%
(1) Excludes the United Kingdom.
22 Alibaba.com Limited Annual Report 2009