Alibaba, Russian tech firm Mail.ru announce partnership: Statement

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Russian technology group Mail.ru on Tuesday announced an agreement to launch a joint venture in Russia and former Soviet countries.

The two groups, along with the Russian sovereign wealth fund and telecom operator MegaFon, announced the creation of "a new strategic partnership to integrate Russia's key consumer internet and e-commerce platforms and launch a leading social commerce joint venture in Russia and the CIS.