Tag Archives: One97

INTERNET: Alibaba Fixates on India With E-Payment Investment

Bottom line: Alibaba’s boosting of its stake in a leading Indian e-payments firm is part of a broader strategy that aims to replicate its China success in India through a series of acquisitions, and looks relatively well conceived.

Alibaba eyes new India investment

Just a week after abruptly pulling out of a major US investment, e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) is increasingly focusing on India as the first major stop on its global expansion, with word that it’s in talks for a major new investment in a local e-payments firm. The new investment in Paytm, which would be worth about $600 million, is just the latest in a growing string of similar Indian acquisitions for Alibaba as it tries to replicate its success in China in overseas markets.

From a strategic perspective, India looks like a smart bet for Alibaba. The Indian market shares many characteristics with China, including the lack of a mature western-style retail industry from the pre-Internet era. As a result, a far bigger percentage of people in these markets are more likely to shop online. What’s more, the Indian retail market is relatively less competitive than western markets, and is experiencing rapid growth. Read Full Post…

CELLPHONES: Alibaba Eyes India Mobile Market With Micromax

Bottom line: Ant Financial’s bid for a stake in Indian smartphone maker Micromax reflects Alibaba’s recent focus on India, as it seeks to expand to markets where it can quickly grow and justify its high valuation.

Alibaba unit eyes Micromax investment

E-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) appears to have its sights set on India, with word that the company’s financial arm is leading a group that could invest $1 billion or more for a stake in local smartphone giant Micromax. The reported bid is being led by Ant Financial, which is separately run from Alibaba and has no equity relationship with the US-listed e-commerce giant. But such a bid would clearly be part of Alibaba’s broader global expansion, as it tries to justify its lofty valuation following a record IPO last September. Read Full Post…

INTERNET: Alibaba Eyes “Snap” Deals In US SNS, India E-commerce

Bottom line: Alibaba’s 2 latest big investments in Snapchat and Snapdeal look like good bets for strong financial returns, but are unlikely to produce any major strategic benefit.

Alibaba in talks for Snapdeal stake

I was a bit confused on my first reading of the headlines today, after seeing articles saying e-commerce leader Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) was in talks to invest in 2 companies whose “snappy” names sounded quite similar. But a closer reading made it clear that these were 2 very different deals, one involving the popular US social networking service (SNS) Snapchat, and the other involving a popular Indian e-commerce site called Snapdeal.

Despite their big geographic and product differences, these 2 deals seem to represent a growing trend for Alibaba, which is no longer acquiring companies but instead only buying small strategic stakes. The strategy looks mostly advantageous to the investment targets. That’s because it’s helping to push up the valuations of names like Snapchat and Snapdeal to frothy levels, much the way Alibaba used similar investments to pump up its own valuation in the run-up to its IPO last year. Read Full Post…

INTERNET: Alibaba Eyes India, South Korea

Bottom line: Alibaba’s new forays into India and South Korea look like good choices for its first major drive into foreign markets, as such markets are more similar to and have stronger links with China.

Alibaba eyes India investment

It’s been interesting to watch where China’s top Internet firms are placing their bets as they embark on an international expansion to show the world they can compete outside their home market. India is emerging as one destination of choice, with word that e-commerce leader Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) is following smartphone sensation Xiaomi into the market with a major new acquisition target. At the same time, other media reports are saying that Alibaba is also in talks for another major investment in South Korea. Read Full Post…