Jack Ma, the co-founder and executive chairman of the Chinese retail giant Alibaba, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, praising the "vibrancy and potential" of the Israeli economy.
Ma is visiting Israel with 28 executives from his multinational corporation and is to receive an honorary degree from Tel Aviv University on Thursday. No other Alibaba delegation this size has ever embarked on a business trip outside China.
"The past two days have been very inspirational, this is my first trip to Israel and I had a lot of expectations, this is a trip of learning, and I brought 28 young presidents of Alibaba Group and I sent a message back to Alibaba about what we see and who we talk to – [I told them there are] a lot of young people in the [Israeli] companies, and that we should all come here," Ma told Netanyahu in their meeting.
"You can come back as often as you want and in fact, you can stay," Netanyahu replied.
Ma said he was very impressed with the business opportunities Israel has to offer and by its strong economy.
During his meeting with Economy and Industry Minister Eli Cohen, Ma was given a presentation on Israel's investment potential and on the various efforts to boost innovation in the private sector. Alibaba has invested tens of millions of dollars in Israeli companies, including Visualead and Lumus.
Cohen gave Ma a book on Israeli innovation, published to mark Israel's 70th anniversary, showcasing the Israeli technological advancements that revolutionized entire industries, including drip irrigation, water desalinization, flash drives and instant messaging. Ma was given a special Chinese edition of the book.
