Alibaba takes stake in Chinese video platform Bilibili

Alibaba has bought an eight per cent stake in Chinese online video sharing and entertainment service Bilibili for an undisclosed amount, state news agency Xinhua reported. Alibaba's e-commerce arm Taobao will reportedly own 24 million shares in Nasdaq-listed Bilibili, which claims tens of millions of regular users, mainly among young anime, comic and computer game fans in China. Chen Rui, Bilibili's CEO and chairman, said he hoped the collaboration would help Bilibili to attract yet more users by tapping into Taobao's huge platform, the Xinhua report said late Thursday. The two sides had announced a partnership in December which allows Bilibili users to create videos and other content to promote merchandise sold on Taobao.