Dive Brief:

• Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has ended talks with India’s Snapdeal due to high valuations being sought by the online marketplace. 
• Alibaba is seeking to acquire a number of e-tailers based in India to expand its virtual footprint in the country, as well as firms that can add to its products and services.
• Founder Jack Ma announced his intention to expand into India and was granted audience with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November. 

Dive Insight:

Alibaba wants to go global, and is following up on plans to expand into India through acquisition of small e-commerce concerns in spite of its acquisition of Snapdeal falling through. The Chinese e-commerce giant already has four offices in India, and operates a number of locally-based small businesses that retail non-perishable foodstuffs.

Alibaba’s B2B says its e-commerce platform helps develop small- and medium-sized businesses, and founder Jack Ma promised to “invest more in India” in a visit to the country in November 2014. More recently, the retailer announced a memorandum of understanding promising greater engagement between India and China, and the acquisition of 25% of Indian mobile-commerce leader One97 Communications.