Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is planning to bet big on its investment in Indian e-commerce company Paytm, Rediff reported.

During an earnings call for its quarterly result on Friday, the company gave an official indication of its plan to include Paytm among its top priorities in future.      

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As per the transcript of the earnings call, available on the SeekingAlpha, Joseph C Tsai, executive vice-chairman, said "The other emerging market is in India, where we have decided to play some very strategically located assets in that market. We invested jointly with Ant Financial into a company called Paytm, largest mobile wallet company in India. We think mobiles and payment are going to be important strategic assets for us in that market."

According to reports, Alibaba is already helping to train the senior management of Paytm to hone their skills for their soon to be launched Paytm Payment Bank. Last year, Paytm was among several Indian fintech companies that was granted a license to start a payment bank.        

Today, Paytm is India's largest mobile commerce platform. Founded in 2010, the company initially offered mobile recharge and utility payment services on its platform. Paytm later ventured into e-commerce and today it has become one of the leading e-commerce players in India.                

Alibaba's Foray into Indian Startup Ecosystem   

In March 2015, Paytm became the first Indian startup company to receive funding from Alibaba Group. Alibaba, along with its subsidiary company Ant Financial Services, invested $575 million for a 25 percent stake in One97 Communication Pvt Ltd, the parent company of Paytm.

Later in the same year, Alibaba invested $500 million in another leading Indian e-commerce company, Snapdeal. There are speculations that Alibaba may also pick up a stake in Snapdeal's main competitor, Flipkart. However, so far there has been no development on this front.                

Alibaba's growing interest in Indian startup companies is part of its long-term strategy to seek growth opportunities in various emerging markets. Experts say that over-competition in the US market has pushed Alibaba to seek opportunities in developing countries.

TagsPaytm, Alibaba, china, China and India, Alibaba India, Alibaba Investment