Alibaba describes 'steadfast efforts' to fight counterfeiters

Massive Chinese marketplace Alibaba moved to fend off charges that it deals in pirated goods by describing in a letter to the U.S. government its "steadfast efforts" to fight counterfeiters.

The statement came in "submitted comments" to the U.S. Trade Representative in response from trade groups to put Alibaba on the government's "notorious markets list" for offering pirated goods.

Alibaba denied in its submission Wednesday that it is a marketplace for counterfeit goods.

"We routinely collaborate with brands, associations and regulators to maintain the integrity of our marketplaces. Our recent USTR [United States Trade Representative] submissions describe our steadfast efforts to fight counterfeiters online and the sources of such production offline. It also reflects our very strong commitment towards intellectual property rights protection," the statement said.

Rick Helfenbein, the head of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, said the Chinese retail giant must "clean up their image."

Helfenbein told CNNMoney that Alibaba, one of the world's largest online retailers, doesn't do enough to police counterfeit goods sold on its sites.

"They are the bad boys of retail right now, and we need to clean that up," Helfenbein said.

Naira strengthens against dollar at interbank market

The Naira on Friday appreciated against the dollar at the official interbank market, the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports.

The Nigerian currency gained 50k to exchange at N304.50, from N305 posted on Thursday.

At the Bureau De Change, BDC, segment of the market, the naira closed at N385 Central Bank controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N560 and N503, respectively.

The naira, however, weakened against the dollar at the parallel market, nullifying the N5 it gained on Thursday to exchange at N470 to a dollar:

The Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N565 and N505, respectively.

Aminu Gwadabe, President of Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, ABCON, said that during the “ember’’ months, the demand for the dollar far outstripped its supply,

Mr. Gwadabe noted that currency speculators leveraged on the delay in the sale of forex to BDCs on Thursday to manipulate the market.

He, however, said that the naira was expected to bounce back fully by the coming days as the CBN, Travelex and some commercial banks were working hard to ease the liquidity challenges.

NAN