Bulgarian base for Alibaba?

Alibaba, the well-known e-commerce company, are supposedly considering erecting a base in Burgas, Bulgaria to help with logistics and the overall running of the company.

Plans have already been confirmed by bodies in both China and Bulgaria for a train line to run between Zhengzhou, home of Alibaba, and Burgas, the second most used harbour in Bulgaria. Having a base of operations in Bulgaria will enable the Chinese company to reach out to a wider audience and allow their current customers to be served even quicker. The train line in question starts in Henan and would have to run through a number of countries possibly including Turkey, Georgia, Russia and of course, Bulgaria.

This isn't the first project to link the two countries together though as investors from Shenzhen are thought to be considering an ‘economic city’ in Plovdiv. Bulgaria’s second largest city, Plovdiv, would ultimately transform into a hub for all interactions between China and Europe/Middle East. Since Shenzhen is one of the largest export locations for both China and Hong Kong, the ‘economic city’ would allow easier distribution routes to the rest of Europe.

Porter City Holdings, a Chinese company, are thought to be one of the main bodies involved in this development and their chairman was even quoted as saying that the project is due to be completed within just three years. Plovdiv, who already have 100 company factories in the area, are said to be supportive of the move.

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