Mumbai, Aug. 18: China's Alibaba Group Holding, Japan's SoftBank Group Corp and Foxconn will lead an investment of $500 million in Snapdeal, the online marketplace said on Tuesday as it seeks to expand in India's fast growing e-commerce sector.

The move is a vote of confidence from three of the world's biggest technology companies in Snapdeal, which in October got a $627-million investment from SoftBank, also an early backer of Alibaba.

Snapdeal, which bills itself as India's version of Alibaba, did not break out individual investments.

Existing investors Temasek, BlackRock, Myriad and Premji Invest also participated in the funding round, Snapdeal said, without giving further details.

"We see this milestone as a significant endorsement of Snapdeal's strategy and commitment to creating life changing experiences for millions of small businesses and consumers in India," said Kunal Bahl, co-founder and CEO of Snapdeal.

eBay Inc, an early backer of the company, is selling part of its stake in a transaction that also involves fresh funding.

eBay said in a statement it has sold a portion of its stake and would focus on boosting its own business in the country.

Separately, FIH Mobile, a unit of Taiwan's Foxconn, said it was buying a 4.27 per cent stake in Snapdeal for $200 million via its Singapore-based subsidiary Wonderful Stars Pte.

Sources said the transaction would value Snapdeal at $4.8 billion.

In India, Snapdeal rivals Flipkart, valued at around $15 billion, and Amazon.com Inc's India unit as the three fight it out for a share of a $22-billion market. Like its rivals, Snapdeal sees the majority of its transactions on smartphones and mobile devices.

"That is why, with a significant share of e-commerce transactions in India being done via mobile devices, the investment positions FIH to benefit from Snapdeal's platform," Foxconn said in a statement.

Alibaba and eBay are looking to benefit from India's fast growing online sector, boosted by a rise in use of smartphones and internet connections.

Alibaba has said India is a key market for the group.