People around the world are baffled over recent comments made by Alibaba’s (BABA Quick QuoteBABA - Free Report) CEO, Jack Ma.  On the 13^th of June, Mr. Ma claimed that counterfeit goods are superior to authentic products in terms of quality. 

The e-commerce giant has been marred in controversy for not stepping up efforts to deter counterfeit goods from being sold on its online platform.  These conflicting words from the company’s CEO are not helping to better BABA’s image.  Here’s how investors are reacting to Jack Ma’s belief that “the fake products today are of better quality…than the real names”.

Jack Ma said fakes are better than originals. Not sure if this'll help in the counterfeit allegations against $BABA https://t.co/ElHa4IBYeS

— Saheli Roy Choudhury (@sahelirc) June 15, 2016

Looks like #Alibaba's #JackMa just gave a big green light to #counterfeit-ers: https://t.co/mC4mwJR560 #intellectualproperty #China $BABA

— (((Alan Tonelson))) (@AlanTonelson) June 14, 2016

LOL like i said. Once Alibaba's counterfeit products become exposed by our legal system, $BABA will be cut in half https://t.co/VT2ZtNXYd9

— 500pagesAday (@500pagesAday) June 14, 2016

After praising counterfeit products, #JackMa @AlibabaGroup is making up the nos at will - forecasts growth rising 48% YoY - $BABA baloney...

— Market Farce (@Market_Farce) June 14, 2016

China-made counterfeit goods better than the real thing, complicating efforts to weed out fakes: Alibaba's Ma. https://t.co/TkttbidlYo $BABA

— bored2tears (@bored2tears) June 14, 2016

Our funny man and editor of the Momentum Trader and Home Run Investor services, David Bartosiak, does a great job of summing up why Jack Ma’s claim is so controversial.

Bottom Line:

Alibaba is not doing a great job with regards to banning counterfeit sellers from its trading platform.  This is nothing new for the company though.  What’s really strange is the fact that Jack Ma is making comments which may have the potential to spur an increased demand for counterfeit goods.  Jack Ma states that he and his company “are world-leading fighters against counterfeits”.  It seems that the opposite is true.  Instead of being a leading fighter, Jack Ma has made a ludicrous claim, arguably making him the largest advocate for purchasing counterfeit goods.

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