A senior executive has detailed the challenges faced by China’s central force in online business – AliBaba – which could lead to opportunities for Australian businesses.

Senior Advisor with Alibaba Group Luhong Sun spoke over the weekend, saying there are huge opportunities for future growth on the global stage in the company that currently facilities most of China’s online transactions.

China has over half a billion residents, with close to half of them receiving a large portion of the everyday items from online stores. Mr Sun says the revolution is just taking off, with an 18 per cent increase in transaction profits in 2012, and estimates for a further 25 per cent jump this year.

Some opportunities are most certainly available to Australian businesses who can work out a way to break into the market. Mr Sun said the average Chinese person considers Australian food among the cleanest, healthiest and most reliable in the world. He says there is a huge movement toward internet-based food buying, and Australian providers could reap vast rewards from attacking the market early.

Rampant over-population is seen as a major driver for the move to online shopping, as it subverts the challenge of buying and operating a car on the nation’s overflowing road system, as well as navigating the expansive shopping centres.

AliBaba is still planning to make its debut on the stock market soon, despite its internal structure leading to it being rejected from the Hong Kong exchange. It has been estimated to float for a figure around $10 billion, with its total value in the neighbourhood of $100 billion.