Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has confirmed that it will enter the Middle East market by the end of this year.

The company will set up a global data centre in the United Arab Emirates after signing a joint venture with Dubai-based holding company Meraas.

Alibaba Cloud hosted a startup competition in the city this week, where CCTV reporter Nawied Jabarkhyl caught up with Yiping Gong, the division's general manager for the region.