At the opening ceremony of a large investment activity called "Road to London" held in Beijing by Think London, the official foreign direct investment service organization of London, Chinese IT companies, including Alibaba.com and Geong International, announced that they will open London offices to explore the European market and to accelerate their internationalization.

"Road to London" is a business promotion activity that aims to encourage Chinese companies' investment enthusiasm in London before the opening of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Held by Think London, the large-scale activity will last for three months, covering 12 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. During the activity, Think London will provide free consulting and support services to Chinese enterprises to assist them in opening branches in London and seizing the business opportunities of the 2012 London Olympic Games.

At the opening day of the activity, Alibaba.com announced that the company intends to open a London office in the near future. The new office will be the fifth Alibaba.com office outside mainland China.

Xie Keren, president of Geong International, signed a letter of intent with the mayor of London to establish a London base. Successfully listed on the Alternative Investment Market, a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, on June 23, 2006, Geong International is a leading Chinese enterprise content management software products provider.

Michael Charlton, CEO of Think London, told media that their goal is to introduce 30 new Chinese companies into London when the Olympic torch is finally lit in 2012.