This site uses cookies to provide you with a better experience. For information on our Privacy and Cookie Policy, please visit this page. By continuing to use the site or closing this banner, you are agreeing to our terms of use. Close
Trade Events Center promotes your trade shows to worldwide
Alibaba invests $692m in Chinese mall operator
2014/3/31
Chinese internet giant Alibaba has invested 5.6bn Hong Kong dollars ($692m; ￡415m) in Intime, a Chinese mall operator.
That investment, a mix of shares and bonds, will give Alibaba a 10% stake that could grow to 25%.
In a filing, Intime said Alibaba's investment would help "harness the latest internet technologies" to create a better shopping experience.
This is the latest of many investments Alibaba has made in the past year.
"We see significant opportunities to extend our e-commerce platform to physical retail," said Alibaba's chief operating officer Daniel Zhang in a separate statement.
Shopping spree
Alibaba is trying to strengthen its offerings ahead of a planned public stock market debut in the US.
Earlier this month, it bought a 60% stake in Chinavision, a Hong Kong-based television and media production firm, as well as investing $215m in chat application Tango in a bid to fend off competition from rival firm Tencent.
When Alibaba goes public - which many expect to happen some time this year - it is expected to be one of the biggest stock offerings by an internet firm.
Many analysts predict it could raise as much as $15bn - surpassing Facebook's share listing in 2012.
