Alibaba goes into online fund sales

Financial products will soon be available on Taobao.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has allowed Alibaba Group Holdings to act as a third party for the online sale of fund products. The approval is another step for Alibaba in its campaign to provide an alternative to China's tightly regulated financial system.

Alibaba affiliate Alipay has partnered with 37 funds to offer wealth management products to its customers. AliPay's fund payment platform Yu E Bao launched its Zenglibao fund in June.

The Zenglibao fund is a money market product. It is the most successful fundraising by any mutual fund in China this year. Zenglibao has US$9.1 billion in assets under management and 13 million customers as of Q3.