Alibaba, China’s ecommerce giant, has paid more than $800m for a majority stake in Hong Kong-listed ChinaVision Media Group, continuing a string of acquisitions that total nearly $3bn over the past year.

中国电子商务巨擘阿里巴巴(Alibaba)斥资逾8亿美元，购得在香港上市的文化中国传播集团(ChinaVision Media Group)的多数股份，此举延续了阿里巴巴在过去一年期间总计近30亿美元的一连串收购。

Alibaba is preparing for an initial public offering expected for this year either in Hong Kong or New York that is expected to value the company at more than $100bn. It is in competition with rival internet conglomerates Tencent and Baidu over China’s vast internet market.

阿里巴巴正在筹备首次公开发行(IPO)，预计今年在香港或纽约进行，届时该公司的估值有望超过1000亿美元。它正与竞争对手、互联网企业集团腾讯(Tencent)和百度(Baidu)在中国庞大的互联网市场展开角力。

Most of Alibaba’s recent acquisitions have been intended to shore up perceived weaknesses ahead of the IPO, mainly in the area of mobile internet.

阿里巴巴近期的收购交易中，多数意在赶在上市之前弥补市场眼中的弱点，这些弱点主要集中于移动互联网领域。

Alibaba’s purchase of map software maker AutoNavi, which it agreed to take private last month in a deal that valued AutoNavi at $1.6bn, is aimed at beefing up Alibaba’s mobile internet offerings. It has also bought stakes in four US-based ecommerce companies including delivery group ShopRunner.

阿里巴巴对地图软件制造商高德(AutoNavi)的收购，就是出于加强移动互联网服务的考虑。该公司上月同意将高德私有化，在交易中对高德的估值达到16亿美元。阿里巴巴还入股4家总部设在美国的电子商务公司，包括网购配送服务提供商ShopRunner。

Alibaba’s revenue growth has been slowing due to competition and because it already controls 80 per cent of ecommerce in China.

阿里巴巴的营收增长近期有所放缓，原因在于竞争，也在于它已经控制了中国电子商务的80%。

The ChinaVision deal will address what analysts say is Alibaba’s competitive disadvantage in video entertainment, where it lags behind both Baidu and Tencent. China’s online video scene is already the biggest in the world, with more than 400m viewers and hundreds of millions more set to join as superfast 4G connections become more popular.

文化中国的交易将解决分析师所称的阿里巴巴在视频娱乐领域的竞争劣势；阿里巴巴在该领域落后于百度和腾讯。中国的网络视频“蛋糕”已经是世界最大的，拥有逾4亿观众，随着超高速的4G（第四代移动通信）上网逐渐普及，预计还有数亿人将加入观众行列。

Buying ChinaVision gives Alibaba access to its television dramas, films and mobile games. ChinaVision scored a hit last year with Journey to the West, a Stephen Chow comedy that took in $92.5m during its Chinese new year opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.

收购文化中国使阿里巴巴得以利用其资源，包括电视剧、电影和手机游戏。文化中国去年参与投资拍摄的周星驰(Stephen Chow)喜剧《西游•降魔篇》(Journey to the West)大获成功。根据票房信息网站Box Office Mojo的数据，该片在春节期间的上映首个周末获得9250万美元票房收入。

Original content could bolster Alibaba’s smart TV operating system, which it launched in July 2013. Last year Alibaba also bought music streaming site Xiami.

原创内容有望提振阿里巴巴在2013年7月推出的智能电视操作系统。去年，阿里巴巴还收购了音乐网站虾米(Xiami)。

“We are pleased to collaborate with the ChinaVision Media Group to explore future business opportunities as part of Alibaba’s digital entertainment strategy, and look forward to working together for years to come,” said Alibaba.

“我们很高兴与文化中国传播集团合作，作为阿里巴巴数字娱乐战略的一部分探索未来商机，并期待着在未来多年里共同合作，”阿里巴巴表示。

No further comment was available from either company.

记者无法从两家公司中的任何一家获得进一步评论。

But Alibaba is not the only cash-rich Chinese internet company spending freely to strengthen capabilities.

但阿里巴巴并不是唯一大举支出以加强自身实力的资金充裕的中国互联网公司。

Stiff competition has put pressure on companies to grow faster than they can build new businesses organically, driving billions of dollars worth of mergers and acquisitions over the past 12 months.

激烈的竞争使企业面临压力，要求它们以快于有机打造新业务的速度实现增长，这一现实推动着过去12个月期间总计数十亿美元的并购交易。

This week Alibaba’s main rival, Tencent, bought 15 per cent of the number two ecommerce platform in China, JD.com, in an effort to establish a foothold in ecommerce to challenge Alibaba.

本周，阿里巴巴的主要竞争对手腾讯收购了中国第二大电商平台京东商城(JD.com) 15%股份，目的是在电子商务领域建立一个立足点，以便挑战阿里巴巴。