Alibaba buys into electronics giant Suning

A receptionist works at Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, Jan 30, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is to invest 28.3 billion yuan ($4.63 billion) to buy 19.99 percent of stake of the country's largest electronics retailer, Suning Commerce Group.

Alibaba will become Suning's second largest share holder after the aquisition.

Suning will acquire no more than 27.8 million newly-released shares from Alibaba, valued at 14 billion yuan, to hold a stake of approximately 1.1 percent of the company. The move will have a major impact on China's e-commerce market.

Suning said the company's trading of shares, which was halted on August 3, will resume on Tuesday.

The announcement was made on Monday afternoon.