Alibaba registers film company in HK

China's largest e-commerce company Alibaba Group has registered a film company in Hong Kong to help it expand its footprint in the media business.

Alibaba Pictures Group, originally called Alibaba Films Group, was established in early April according to a company registration system information in Hong Kong, although details such as registration capital, shareholders status and its stake structure were not available for public viewing.

The current name was adopted in late April.

Alibaba Pictures will concentrate on film production and other cultural related business, Caixin Online reported yesterday, quoting a source familiar with the matter.

The Alibaba Group declined to comment yesterday.

In March, Alibaba said it will pay HK$6.2 billion (US$800 million) for 60 percent of Hong Kong-listed cultural production company ChinaVision Media Group, giving the e-commerce giant access to TV and movie content.

The companies said at the time that they would explore online entertainment and media opportunities together.

The e-commerce giant last week filed for an initial public offering in the United States that could be the biggest in the US stock market.

Ahead of its US listing, Alibaba has invested in several companies as it extends its influence in other Internet-related sectors and the offline realm such as retail. Its latest investment is a 16.5 percent stake in US-listed online video website Youku Tudou Inc.