Alibaba pulls funding to Indian firms amid tensions at the border

By Rahul Vaimal, Associate Editor
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Chinese multinational company, Alibaba which has investments in e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology across the globe, will reportedly pause its investment plans for Indian firms as border tensions among neighboring nations remain heightened.  

The Chinese conglomerate along with its affiliates Alibaba Capital Partners and Ant Group has fuelled the growth of several high profile Indian ventures with investments in payments platform Paytm, food delivery service Zomato, and e-grocer BigBasket.

The decision is likely to influence future fundraising plans of at least some of these firms.

According to data available with private capital markets tracker PitchBook, Alibaba and its affiliates have invested more than $2 billion in Indian firms since 2015 and participated in funding rounds of at least another $1.8 billion.

The group which is expected to not put in fresh funds to expand its investments in the country for at least six months does not have any current plans to reduce its stakes or exit investments from ventures in the country.

Chinese investors such as Alibaba and Tencent have heavily involved in funding Indian startups with an aim to bolster their presence in India to grow their revenues outside China.

The recent development is expected to hurt the plans of Indian startups only in the short term as there is ample interest among European and U.S.-based investors to fill the gap left by the Chinese.

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