Alibaba commented on a report produced by AliResearch Institute, showing that e-commerce will become a thriving industry in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) and will help to strengthen the ties among these countries. The report claims that gross merchandise volume generated via online shopping portals with grow 340% by 2020 and reach USD 3 trillion in BRICS countries. This would represent 59% of global e-commerce transaction value in five years, an increase by 41.8% since 2016. AliResearch attributed the foreseeable e-commerce boom to the maturing IT infrastructure, the prevalence of smartphones, and enhanced payment and logistics capabilities.The report was published a few days before the BRICS summit, which will take place from 3 to 5 September in Xiamen, China.