SM Entertainment has denied receiving investment from China's Alibaba following reports that suggested the agency received an investment worth 100 billion KRW (~90 million USD) from the e-commerce giant.

SM Entertainment's financial supervisor stated on the 25th, "The report about [SM Entertainment] receiving investment from Alibaba is false... Although we are in talks regarding various businesses, alliances, and other forms of cooperation to diversify our operations in China, the news about investment from Alibaba is false."

The report circulating earlier had suggested that Alibaba was looking to become the #2 shareholder of SM by investing 100 billion KRW into the agency. With this news, SM's stocks soared 15%, but with the recent denial, the prices are starting to fall back down.

Although the news about Alibaba' involvement has turned out to be false, it is the opinion of various sources in the entertainment industry that it is only a matter of time before a large-scale investment from a Chinese company will be announced as SM themselves have revealed that they are currently in negotiations with various Chinese companies.