How this #1 Global Conglomerate Is Engulfing Indian Market Indian e-commerce industry is brimming with confidence over its new- found popularity and this group's decision to enter the sector will surely reap benefits for Paytm
By Nidhi Singh
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Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is not a new name in the online shopping space.
China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has already made a foothold in India with its ticketing operations, cloud computing and news agency.
The company has also invested in digital wallet Paytm for the launch of Paytm Mall, a mobile shopping app which offers a mixed experience of a mall and bazaar to Indian customers.
In September 2015, Alibaba Group and Ant Financial invested about $680 million in the online payment platform.
The e-commerce industry is brimming with confidence over its new- found popularity and the group's decision to enter the sector will surely reap benefits for Paytm.
However, the joint venture will have to compete with other major e-commerce players like Flipkart and Amazon to survive the fierce competition.
Let's take a look at five segments in which Alibaba group is moving ahead with its expansion plans in India:
Alibaba-Paytm Deal
In March 2015, Paytm received a $575 million investment from Alibaba Group after Ant Financial Services Group, an Alibaba Group affiliate, bought a 25% stake in One97(the parent company of Paytm), as part of a strategic agreement. Ant Financial Services Group, which operates Alipay the biggest online payment platform, will help Paytm improve user experience and continue doing good in competitive digital wallet space.
Alibaba Cloud
This week, Tata Communications announced its partnership with Alibaba Cloud, the group's cloud computing arm. The deal will enable customers from over 150 countries, including India, to connect to Alibaba Cloud's Express Connect via Tata Communications' IZO(TM) Private Connect service.
Tata Communications' IZO(TM) platform empowers enterprises to connect and build their cloud, their way -- be it private, public or hybrid. Tata Communications' IZO(TM) Private Connect service will give customers from over 150 countries high-speed, low-latency access to Alibaba Cloud ExpressConnect.
Online Movie Ticketing Platform
After placing its first biggest bet on Paytm, the Chinese group picked up majority stakes in Chennai-based online movie ticket booking start-up TicketNew. TicketNew is over 10 years old and part of Orbgen Technologies Private Limited that has its presence in more than 300 cities in India.
Media reports stated that Alibaba would also invest INR120 crore in the start-up. Till now, BookMyShow is a major player in the segment.
The acquisition has taken place through Alibaba Pictures Group Limited, the flagship unit of Alibaba Group's entertainment arm.
UC News App
Alibaba's mobile business unit UCWeb provides better mobile internet experience to billions of users around the world. This year, UCWeb with its content platform We-Media Reward Plan 2.0 announced to invest INR 200 crore in India for content distribution over the next two years. Last year, it had launched 'UC News', a platform that brings together news content from over 20 featured channels, including news, cricket and technology.
