RIYADH: Following a recent meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced its plans to invest $2 billion in Turkiye. Alibaba Group President Michael Evans made the announcement after holding talks in Istanbul on Friday, according to a statement issued by the company’s Turkish unit Trendyol. Evans pointed out that his company strongly believes in Turkiye’s “sound economic fundamentals” and invested $1.4 billion through Trendyol, the country’s biggest e-commerce marketplace. Without giving details about the investment calendar, Evans expressed support for Trendyol’s international expansion plans, emphasizing that Turkiye has the potential to become one of the leading e-export countries. Backed by Alibaba, Trendyol reached a valuation of $16.5 billion in 2021, raising funds from investors including SoftBank Group, General Atlantic, Qatar Investment Authority, and Abu Dhabi sovereign fund ADQ. According to German research firm ecommerceDB, Turkiye’s is ranked the 19th largest e-commerce market, expecting a revenue of approximately $18.7 billion by 2023. The projected compound annual growth rate from 2023-2027 is 13.6 percent, leading to an expected market volume of about $31.2 billion by 2027. Moreover, the Turkish online shopping market is expected to grow by 26 percent over the last year, contributing to the global growth rate of 9.6 percent. The research firm also found that the electronics and media category was the largest, constituting 42.3 percent of Turkiye’s e-commerce earnings. On the other hand, toys, hobby and do-it-yourself category made up 18.5 percent of the revenue. Fashion came second at 18.4 percent, followed by the furniture and appliances category at 11.3 percent. The research firm stated that robust private consumption, low interest rates and a young population will drive the anticipated growth in Turkiye’s e-commerce sector. Also, increased internet and credit card use and the emergence of international players will further stimulate this trend. The market will also expand due to the advent of omnichannel retailing and marketplace consolidation to support future expansion. In January 2022, Strategy&, the strategy consulting business unit of PwC, in its study on the Turkish online shopping market, said the online shopper base could reach 45 million in 2026 and represent more than 70 percent of the total addressable population.