Alibaba, South Korea city in talks for $923 million joint investment: paper

SEOUL (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is in talks with the South Korean city of Incheon for a 1 trillion won (about $923 million) joint investment on a new business complex, the Dong-A Ilbo daily reported on Monday. The paper, without citing direct sources, said the complex would include a major shopping mall as well as a hotel and a logistics center. Alibaba and Incheon would contribute equal funding for the complex, according to the report. "Alibaba Group sees great potential in the South Korean market, however the media reports on the 'Alibaba town' investment are purely speculative," an Alibaba spokeswoman said by email. "Any disclosures regarding our investments will be announced through the proper channels." An Incheon city spokeswoman said she was checking on the veracity of the report. ($1 = 1,083.6400 won) (Reporting by Se Young Lee and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Paul Carsten in Hong Kong; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)