Alibaba and Ant Financial set up joint online venture

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and its Internet finance affiliate Ant Financial will invest 6 billion yuan ($967 million) to set up a local life and service platform.

Both companies will put 3 billion yuan into the joint venture, they revealed on Tuesday. It will be dedicated to providing life-related services, such as food delivery and booking movie tickets online.

The new platform, known as Koubei, will combine Alibaba's mobile e-commerce and cloud computing with Ant Financial's mobile payment model.

Ant Financial's offline resources, such as supermarkets, hospitals and vending machines, will be gradually integrated into Koubei to help the new joint venture gain a firm foothold online.