A Jack Ma vs Jeff Bezos showdown is imminent in India

Photomontage by Tech in Asia. Photo credits: Steve Jurvetson and UN Climate Change.

As part of Alibaba’s India invasion, the newest rumor is that it is exploring a buyout of one of India’s newest unicorns, ShopClues.

Jack Ma’s company has held talks to buy the Indian marketplace, The Economic Times reports.

Predictably, Shopclues told Tech in Asia it has no comment. Alibaba denied the talks.

“We are not currently preparing any investment into ShopClues or Flipkart. India is an important emerging market with great potential and we are committed to developing this market for the long term,” a spokesperson said in email.

“We are planning to enter the e-commerce business in India in 2016. We have been exploring very carefully the e-commerce opportunity in this country, which we think is very exciting on the backdrop of Digital India,” Alibaba Group president J Michael Evans said earlier this year.

One way or another, the Chinese company’s entry in Indian ecommerce is imminent, and it has already held talks with various possible partners, multiple sources have told Tech in Asia over the months. The buzz has been so great, even startup founders have not been able to keep themselves from getting drawn in.

Alibaba deciding to start operations directly shows how badly their Indian investments have done so far

— Sachin Bansal (@_sachinbansal) March 25, 2016

Didn't Morgan Stanley just flush 5bn worth market cap in Flipkart down the 🚽? Focus on ur business not commentary 🙂 https://t.co/8NpkhWWo2j

— Kunal Bahl (@1kunalbahl) March 25, 2016