But Alibaba faces more than a few hurdles, not least because Hong Kong shoppers remain largely suspicious of the quality of goods and services provided by mainland-based companies. E-commerce is also still less prevalent in the territory than in other Asian markets. If Alibaba can succeed in establishing a stronger presence against these odds, it will be an important step toward achieving its global ambitions.

On the offensive

Alibaba officially launched Tmall in Hong Kong in mid-June, enabling local shoppers to take advantage of cheaper daily goods imported from the mainland. Some of these items, which include everything from food to household products, cost less than half of what they do on HKTV Mall, the biggest online retail platform in the territory, operated by Hong Kong Television Network. Speed is another draw. Because Alibaba has a warehouse in China's Guangdong Province, which is adjacent to Hong Kong, Tmall users in the territory can receive next-day deliveries, according to the company.

Meanwhile Ant Financial, Alibaba's financial unit, is stepping up efforts to expand Alipay's user base in the city. After receiving approval from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city's de facto central bank, Ant Financial in May started offering an Alipay mobile wallet and payments app dedicated to local-currency transactions.

In mid-July, Ant Financial held a meeting with major Hong Kong retailers, including shopping mall, supermarket and convenience store operators and small and midsize merchants, to promote Alipay. Venetia Lee, general manager of Alipay Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, said the number of registered users in Hong Kong has already surpassed 100,000 and that her company aims to sign up at least 8,000 local merchants to accept payments via Alipay by the end of this year.