Alibaba expands into mobile gaming in India with eye on digital payments, e-commerce

Alibaba Group, China’s largest e-commerce company, is expanding into mobile gaming in India, where its mobile browser is the most popular by market share.

Hong Kong-listed AGTech Holdings and India-based Paytm, both controlled by Alibaba, will set up a joint venture to introduce Gamepind, a mobile gaming and e-commerce platform, in India, according to a statement by the two companies.

The Chinese e-commerce firm has been turning its focus to India as it looks to expand its operations abroad. Similar to the Chinese market, India has a large population of more than a billion people, and is now the world’s second-largest smartphone market. The company has ridden the wave of widespread smartphone use and popularity of mobile payments to drive e-commerce transactions, with about 549 million people, or about 40 per cent of China’s 1.4 billion population, using its Taobao and Tmall marketplace apps.

“India’s young consumers are experimenting and discovering more entertainment options on mobile. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and chief executive of Paytm, said in a statement. “Mobile game is therefore growing in the country and becoming big with mobile users.”

In India, Alibaba’s mobile browser UCWeb leads in market share with over 40 per cent, though that lead is narrowing as Google’s Chrome catches up. The company is also reportedly splashing out US$300 million for a stake in Indian online grocer BigBasket as it seeks to tap into the e-commerce market in India.