The Silicon Review ^Asia

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings in a recent press meet son Monday it will invest $3.6 billion to boost its stake in hypermarket operator Sun Art Retail Group Ltd, to further gain ground in China's retail market. The firm is looking to further leverage its digital presence to support Sun Art's 481 hypermarkets and three mid-size supermarkets in China. The move comes as Alibaba steadily expands its presence in China's offline retail sector, as growth in traditional e-commerce slows.

"As the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the digitalization of consumer lifestyles and enterprise operations, this commitment to Sun Art serves to strengthen our New Retail vision and serve more consumers with a fully integrated experience," Alibaba Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang said in a statement. Alibaba also said that Peter Huang would be appointed chairman of Sun Art on top of his current role as chief executive officer.

Shares of Sun Art soared more than 20% after Alibaba made the announcement. Alibaba has expanded outlets across China for Freshippo, a supermarket chain that doubles as an online delivery service. Alibaba operates 214 Freshippo outlets as of its most recent earnings report. It also has worked with mom-and-pop convenience store owners to offer technology and data analytics services. This deal with Sun Art will help Alibaba to become hypermarket giants across Asia.