In the afternoon of September 28 Beijing time, Alibaba(HKG:1688) announced that they will invest RMB 540M (USD 80M ) in HiChina (net.cn) for about 85% share.  And the investment will be settled before the end of 2009 by 2 steps. This is the largest investment to outer companys ever since Alibaba got IPO.

HiHhina is an old IDC in China, which holds a great market share in IDC field. However, HiChina is poor on reputation. Alibaba believes the firm cooperation with HiChina will lead to better service to its customers.

These years, SME (Small & Medium Enterprises) is a growing group, and also a growing market for companys like Alibaba, Baidu, etc. This investment can express the determination to customers of Alibaba, whereas, the poor reputation of HiChina may affect its parent company. In a word, risks and opportunities exist side by side.