Alibaba's push into social media, entertainment starting to pay off

New York

ALIBABA Group Holding Ltd has tried to shake the perception that it's just the eBay Inc or Amazon.com Inc of China, by pushing into social media and entertainment and actively investing in startups such as Snapchat Inc.

Chairman Jack Ma's sprawling pursuits are starting to pay off. Alibaba's Taobao mobile app is a riot of tiny print and icons that allow users to join a chat group for fishing enthusiasts, book a trip and buy a new rod. The one-stop-shop format has resonated with China's young users, who are spending longer on the site than visitors to Amazon or Twitter Inc's mobile sites, and has helped more than double mobile revenue in the most recent quarter.