CHINA TOPIX

03/28/2024 06:02:00 am

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Alibaba and Softbank Join Hands to Launch Cloud Service

SoftBank Sells Partial Stake in Alibaba

(Photo : Getty Images/Koki Nagahama) SoftBank is offloading some of its shares in Alibaba.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is collaborating with Softbank to launch cloud computing services in Japan. The deal reflects Alibaba's ambition to grow into a global behemoth. The joint venture has been named SB Cloud Corporation. Softbank and Alibaba will have 60 percent and 40 percent share respectively in the new venture.

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The newly formed corporation will open a new data center in Japan. The data center will be used for selling Alibaba's cloud services in the country. The company will serve diverse market consisting of startups and multinationals.

The financial terms of the deal between Alibaba and Softbank have not been disclosed.

Eric Gan, chief executive of SB Cloud and SoftBank executive vice president, said in a press release, "I believe the JV team can develop the most advanced cloud platform for Japanese customers, as well as for multinational customers who want to use the resources we have available in Japan."

Alibaba is looking to provide tough competition to existing names in cloud service, such as Amazon and Microsoft. Alibaba's cloud computing and infrastructure business logged a growth rate of 175 percent on a year-over-year basis for the quarter ending on March 31.

The Chinese company is going strong on the international front. Last year, it Collaborated with Foxconn Technology Group and SoftBank to start a robotics joint venture. The business aims to sell SoftBank's robot Pepper in thhe global market.

Alibaba is serious about its cloud business as the company has opened up a new office in Singapore for managing its international cloud business. It has also built two data centers in Silicon Valley.

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