Analysis | Cash-rich Alibaba set to continue investment spree outside China

With a massive war chest raised from its initial public offering and an ambition like no other Chinese company before it, Alibaba Group Holding looks set to morph into a bigger global conglomerate over the next few years, with a mix of businesses online and in the bricks-and-mortar world.

It is a broad strategy cultivated by Jack Ma Yun, Alibaba's lead founder and executive chairman, during a busy period of dealmaking in which the Hangzhou-based e-commerce powerhouse reshaped its operations and business interests through a series of acquisitions and strategic alliances.

That started at around the time Ma stepped down as chief executive last year and continued after Alibaba, the world's largest e-commerce service provider and now the largest listed internet company in Asia, confirmed its much-speculated flotation in the New York Stock Exchange.

Anything is fair game for Alibaba even if the specific targets are unclear, according to Forrester Research.

Alibaba's recent deals included investments, worth tens of billions of dollars, in Chinese department store chain Intime Retail, movie production studio ChinaVision Media Group, national mail service Singapore Post, United States-based mobile messaging firm Tango, online video provider Youku Tudou, mobile game developer Kabam, logistics firm Qingdao Goodaymart and a professional sports team, Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club.

"I don't expect Alibaba to stop its aggressive investment into new areas," said Vanessa Zeng, a senior analyst at Forrester. She pointed out that the company was driven by its mission "to do business anywhere".