Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is talking with banks for a loan of up to $4 billion to fund its expansion plans and acquisitions, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the report said that the loan is part of Alibaba's plan to increase its war chest after spending billions of dollars on investments and acquisitions over the past years, both in China and in markets abroad such as India.
According to the sources, the company's discussion with the banks started with plans to get a $3-billion loan, but it's possible that the amount could be raised to $4 billion. The loan is expected to be finalized next month, the source said.
The country's biggest online shopping company is raising its investments in various businesses, from mobile apps and logistics partnership in the local market to online payments abroad such as India.
Alibaba and its financial-services affiliate said in June that they would make a joint investment of nearly $1 billion in Koubei, a food-ordering app, with the aim to expand its service to connect online users with brick-and-mortar businesses like restaurants.
Two months later, Alibaba announced that it would spend about $4.5 billion to acquire a 20-percent stake in Chinese electronics retailer Suning Commerce Group Ltd., as part of its efforts to strengthen its logistics through partnership with a major bricks-and-mortar retail chain.
In November, Alibaba invested in Youku Tudou Inc. with the aim to turn it into a wholly owned unit, following a deal that valued the online video provider at about $4.4 billion.
In India, Alibaba invested in online shopping startup Snapdeal.com and One97 Communications Ltd., which manages a leading local online-payment service called Paytm.
Pushing its expansion plans, Alibaba recently bought 33 million shares of Groupon Inc., which is about 5.6 percent of Groupon shares outstanding, making Alibaba the fourth largest shareholder of the NASDAQ-listed company.