Alibaba to reshape online finance

In the first 18 days, Yu E Bao gained 2.5 million users and raised more than 6.6 billion yuan, data from Alipay showed. Analysts believe its size will surpass 100 billion yuan by the end of year.

Liu Xiaoguang, chairman of the Beijing Capital Group, said cooperation between Alipay and Tianhong has been upgraded from a single product to the capital level, and the deal will offer Alipay a significant entry into the field of asset management.

Zhang Jianhui, a fund industry insider, said that the deal will optimize Alibaba's internal use of resources and ease its future development in the financial sector.

The takeover by Alibaba will undoubtedly create a strong competitor for other fund companies, but it will also accelerate the integration of the fund management industry and the Internet sector, Zhang said.

Zhang said that more Internet-based businesses may follow a similar path to tap into the fund industry, bringing new vitality to fund management companies in China.

Chen said that Alipay does not rule out the possibility of similar shareholding moves in the online finance sector in the future.

"We will insist on becoming an open platform for online finance, so we see all business partners as equal in terms of conducting innovation and creating value for our customers," Chen said.