Counterfeits often better quality says Jack Ma

Counterfeits often better quality, says Alibaba's Jack Ma

Many Chinese-made counterfeit products are now of "better quality" than the genuine article, the founder of ecommerce giant Alibaba has said.

Jack Ma's comments at Alibaba's offices in Hangzhou, China, come amid concerns about the numbers of fakes for sale on its platforms like Taobao.

Screen protector making machines from Shenzhen YTD Co., Ltd.

Alibaba has been accused by other retailers of tolerating the sale of counterfeits.

But Mr Ma said the company would "do anything" to tackle the fakes.

"The problem is that the fake products today, they make better quality, better prices than the real names," he said on Tuesday.

"The exact factories, the exact same materials, but they do not use their names."

But he said Alibaba was "more and more confident than ever that we can solve the problem."

Taobao, Alibaba's popular online shopping platform, tightened controls earlier last month on its sale of luxury goods, requiring sellers to show proof of authenticity.

China's People's Daily newspaper also reported that authorities were launching a campaign to clean up e-commerce, counterfeit and poor quality products.

In May, Alibaba was suspended from the International Anti Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) watchdog over piracy concerns.

More than 250 members, including Gucci America and Michael Kors, had said they would leave the IACC in protest at Alibaba's membership.

The company later said the IACC's decision was a "step in the wrong direction and regrettable".