Alibaba Group's online payment subsidiary Alipay expects to extend RMB 1 billion in loans to more than 20,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2009 through a partnership with China Construction Bank (CCB) (601939.SH, 939.HK), reports eNet.com.cn quoting Alipay Vice President Qiu Changheng. Alipay provided loans of more than RMB 200 million in 2008 and now grants millions of yuan in loans daily, said the report. Alipay announced that it would partner with CCB to offer loan services to sellers on Alibaba's consumer-to-consumer site Taobao.com on January 16, 2008.

Reports in September 2008 said Alibaba Group had partnered with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (601398.SH, 1398.HK) and CCB to release a new SME loan service.