Alibaba joins Momo buyout group

E-commerce giant's finance affiliates backing plan to take the dating application private

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has joined a group seeking to buy out Chinese dating app Momo Inc, which is expected to accelerate its privatization process.

The move is also Alibaba's latest efforts to boost its presence in social networking as the e-commerce giant is leveraging social networking sites to offer better advertising services for sellers, experts said.