Alibaba, Ant Financial Invest Big In Shopping Venture
China e-commerce leader Alibaba Group (BABA) and its financial affiliate Ant Financial said they will invest nearly $1 billion in an online-to-offline e-commerce joint venture designed to let more people order and pay for local services from their smartphones. Alibaba and Ant Financial will each invest $483.3 million, giving them each half ownership of the joint venture, named Koubei.com. The companies said they planned to make the site into a hub