Alibaba plans to enter Indian mkt with new investment in Paytm

Alibaba is planning an investment of between Rs 1,350 crore and Rs 1,700 in the online retail marketplace Paytm, reports the Economic Times.

Sources have told the newspaper that this deal will mark the formal entry of the Chinese major into the Indian market where it will compete with the likes of US' Amazon and India's Flipkart.

"Alipay, the payments affiliate of Alibaba, and investment firm SAIF Partners have also participated in the deal which is expected to value the online marketplace — spun out of parent company One97 Communications — at over USD 1billion," the report says.

Paytm declined to comment on the story while an Alibaba representative said that the company looks at India as an important market but refused to discuss the business plan based on rumors.