Alibaba set to buy $700m stake in Indian phone maker Micromax

Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of China's Alibaba Group speaks in front of a picture of SoftBank's human-like robot named 'pepper' during a news conference in Chiba, Japan, June 18, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is set to sign an agreement with Indian phone maker Micromax to buy a quarter share of the company for about $700 million, India's Economic Times reported, citing people familiar with the deal.

According to the report, the deal will mark the first such stake purchase of an Indian phone maker by an overseas investor.

The deal, which may also see the participation of Japan's SoftBank, could value Micromax as high as $5 billion, said the report.

India is the world's third largest smartphone market and was the fastest growing in the Asia Pacific region in the third quarter of last year, according to industry research firm International Data Corporation.