Alibaba 'investing in PPTV'

Alibaba is finalizing investment talks with online video provider PPTV, Web portal Sina.com reported on Monday.

The deal is likely to be closed by the end of August, according to Sina, quoting sources from investment banks. The extent of the investment is still not clear, the report said.

Both companies declined to comment on the report when approached by China Daily on Monday.

The attempt followed an earlier announcement by Alibaba when it said it would introduce gesture-controlled smart TV in the coming months, a product that will deliver online payment and video game downloading services.

PPTV launched a similar Internet-enabled set-top box, PPBOX, in May.

The online video industry experienced a major reshuffle, after industry leader Youku and Tudou merged last year.