Chinese online retail giant Alibaba is planning to enter Indian market by partnering with Tata Sons to set up online retail stores in the country later this year.
In this regard, Alibaba Group president Michael Evans and global managing director K Guru Gowrappan met Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry to discuss the partnership.
A person with knowledge on the matter was quoted by Economic Times as saying: "It will take two quarters for Alibaba to finalize a joint venture partner. It may or may not go with the Tata Group in the end but they are definitely talking.
"They would have discussed initial deal contours beyond online retail."
Michael Evans said: "Several entities have appreciated our model and have expressed interest in it at different points of time. We do not wish to comment any further."
After a meeting with the Indian Communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Michael Evans had said that the company is planning to enter India's ecommerce segment this year.
"We have been exploring very carefully the ecommerce opportunity in this country, which we think is very exciting against the backdrop of Digital India."
The person citing knowledge on the matter was quoted by The Economic Times as saying: "Tatas are the best match for Alibaba given the scale and capabilities both these players possess. Alibaba is keen to create a strong back-end network before launching its online portal."
Tata Group has been associated with several other consumer brands in the country. Coffee chain Starbucks also entered India through a strategic alliance with Tata Global Beverages.
Another speculation is that Paytm is considering a spinoff of its online marketplace to allow Alibaba establish a direct presence in India.
According to sources, Paytm is said to be in talks with Alibaba Group for an additional investment of $300-400m in its marketplace. Alibaba already owns a 40% stake in PayTm. The companies have not commented on the matter.
