The Chinese e-commerce company wanted Alibaba.com, its B2B website, to sign up more than one million local businesses after launching in the U.S. three years ago, but people familiar with their operations said it has had to re-adjust those plans to just 2,000 businesses a year. (Financial Times)

Talking point: Alibaba started its e-commerce site in the U.S. to compete with Amazon. Part of the issue is retaining U.S. sellers. Most cancel their subscriptions, which cost US$3,000 annually, after just a year on the site, current and former staff said, in part because they have struggled to compete with prices from sellers in other parts of the world. Meanwhile, more than half of Alibaba.com’s team in New York have quit over the past year and many of their roles have not been filled in what’s seen as a quiet retreat from the U.S. market. Alibaba did not respond to the FT’s requests for comment.