Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is in discussions with its major shareholders to reclaim a formal stake in its strategically important online-payment affiliate, said people familiar with the matter.

据知情人士透露，中国电子商务巨头阿里巴巴集团(Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.)正在与主要股东进行协商，希望收回在战略上具有重要意义的网上支付子公司的正式股份。

A stake in the affiliate, called Alipay, could significantly raise the future value of Alibaba, now preparing an initial public offering already expected to be one of the largest in U.S. history. Even if an agreement over Alipay is reached, it isn't expected to take effect before the IPO, the people said, and would face regulatory review in China.

收回支付宝(Alipay)的股份将显著提升阿里巴巴集团未来的价值。阿里巴巴集团正在推进首次公开募股(IPO)计划，预计将成为美国历史上规模最大的IPO之一。不过知情人士说，即便就支付宝问题达成协议，也不太可能在IPO之前生效，而且面临中国监管部门的审批。

Alipay is central to Alibaba's operations, processing its e-commerce payments similar to the way PayPal handles transactions for eBay Inc. EBAY -4.97% It has also jumped into financial services, and now controls China's largest money-market fund, with assets of $87 billion.

支付宝是阿里巴巴集团的核心业务，其处理电子商务支付的方式与贝宝(PayPal)为eBay Inc处理交易的方式相似。支付宝还涉足理财业务，目前控制着中国最大的货币市场基金，资产高达870亿美元。

One scenario being discussed with a major shareholder would have Alibaba taking a one-third stake in Alipay, said one of the people familiar with the talks.

据了解谈判进展的一位人士说，目前与一位主要股东讨论的一个方案是让阿里巴巴拥有支付宝三分之一的股份。

Changing the ownership structure is 'still only a concept at this point, and there is no timeline,' another person familiar with the discussions said.

另一位知情人士说，改变股权结构目前还只是个概念，没有时间表。

The Alipay ownership discussions come as Alibaba is gearing up for an IPO late this summer that could raise more than $20 billion. With such a huge supply of shares potentially coming to market, the company must drum up significant interest among investors if it wants to sell those shares at a high price.

就在支付宝所有权谈判进行的同时，阿里巴巴正在为今年夏天晚些时候举行的IPO做准备，预计此次IPO将融资超过200亿美元。考虑到发行规模如此庞大，阿里巴巴需要尽力做好前期宣传工作以便卖个好价钱。

The possibility of direct ownership in Alipay could add to investor excitement, enabling Alibaba's future shareholders to benefit from Alipay's growth, especially in its payment services for non-Alibaba clients and in its financial services. Alipay doesn't disclose its profit or revenue.

而直接持有支付宝股份可能会调动投资者的胃口，因为这意味着购买阿里巴巴IPO股票的投资者将有望从支付宝未来的增长中分享好处，特别是支付宝为非阿里巴巴客户提供的支付服务以及支付宝的理财服务。支付宝不公布自己的利润或收入数字。

The Alibaba-Alipay relationship has nonetheless been controversial, and demonstrates an often interconnected web of Chinese corporate ownership.

不过阿里巴巴和支付宝之间的关系一直存在争议，显示出中国企业所有权之间通常相互连接的一个网络。

Alibaba founder Jack Ma separated Alipay from the group in 2011, saying the spinoff was necessary for Alipay to obtain a license to continue its business under then-new Chinese government regulations.

阿里巴巴创始人马云(Jack Ma)在2011年把支付宝从阿里巴巴集团分拆出来，称此举是支付宝获得牌照、根据中国政府新的规定继续开展业务的必要条件。

The move prompted large Alibaba investor Yahoo Inc. YHOO +0.33% to complain it wasn't made aware of the transfer of Alipay until after it was enacted. Some investors were angry that the shift devalued their holdings.

在分拆支付宝的问题上，阿里巴巴的大投资者雅虎公司(Yahoo Inc., YHOO)抱怨其在分拆生效后才知晓这一变化。一些投资者认为此举会降低他们所持股票的价值，并因此感到愤怒。

Alibaba said at the time that its board, on which Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang held a seat, had previously discussed the possibility of such a spinoff. The two firms, and another major investor SoftBank Corp., later reached an agreement over terms of the separation.

阿里巴巴当时说，公司董事会之前就已经讨论过分拆的可能性。而雅虎公司联合创始人杨致远(Jerry Yang)就是阿里巴巴董事之一。阿里巴巴、雅虎以及另外一个主要投资者软银股份有限公司(SoftBank Co., 9984.TO)晚些时候针对分拆条款达成协议。

Today, Alipay is controlled by a parent company in which Mr. Ma holds a 46% stake. Other Alibaba co-founders also hold stakes in Alipay's parent company. That parent company also owns the unit that operates Alipay's money-market fund, Yu'E Bao.

如今，马云在支付宝的母公司中持有46%的股份。阿里巴巴的其他联合创始人也都持有支付宝母公司的股份。支付宝母公司旗下的另一家子公司正是负责运营支付宝货币市场基金余额宝的公司。

SoftBank, a Japanese Internet and mobile service company, has an about 37% stake in Alibaba Group. Yahoo, its second-largest shareholder, owns 24% and Mr. Ma owns roughly 7%.

日本互联网和移动服务公司软银持有阿里巴巴集团37%的股份。雅虎公司持股24%，是第二大股东。马云则持有7%的股份。

Following the 2011 spinoff, Alipay and Alibaba agreed that Alibaba would be paid between $2 billion and $6 billion if Alipay were to go public. Their agreement also sought to ensure that Alipay didn't try to overcharge Alibaba for its payment services. The direct ownership structure under discussion would replace that framework agreement.

在2011年分拆后，支付宝和阿里巴巴达成协议，如果支付宝未来上市，将向阿里巴巴支付20亿至60亿美元。双方的协议也是为了确保支付宝对阿里巴巴收取的支付服务费用不至于过高。当前讨论的支付宝所有权结构将替代原先的框架协议。

Changing the ownership structure could address lingering corporate governance concerns stemming from the 2011 spinoff. That episode offered a reminder of the risks of investing in China, where companies often have to shift direction at Beijing's behest and where foreign investors have little recourse.

改变支付宝的所有权结构可能会解决2011年分拆后遗留的公司治理方面的担忧。这一情况也是对在中国投资所面临潜在风险的一个提醒。在中国，企业经常不得不迫于政府的命令而改变方向，而且外国投资者很难有追索权。

It might also soothe investors' concerns about potential conflicts of interest, since Mr. Ma's stake in the company that controls Alipay is much bigger than his roughly 7% interest in Alibaba.

支付宝所有权结构可能的变化也可能减轻投资者对于潜在利益冲突的担心，因为与马云在阿里巴巴中7%持股比例相比，他在支付宝母公司的持股比例要高得多。

Alibaba's value derives primarily from its ownership of China's leading online shopping destinations Taobao and Tmall, which together account for about 80% of the Chinese consumer e-commerce market, according to analysts. Those two sites generate most of Alibaba's sales, which grew 62% to $8 billion in 2013, from $4.9 billion in 2012.

阿里巴巴的价值主要来源于该公司旗下拥有的购物网站淘宝网和天猫网。分析师们称，这两家网站的交易占据了中国消费电子商务市场约80%的份额。阿里巴巴的主要收入也来源于这两家网站。阿里巴巴2013年销售额较2012年的49亿美元增长62%，至80亿美元。

Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner estimates Alibaba is worth between $240 billion and $250 billion, and that estimate includes just $6 billion for Alipay, reflecting the potential payout to Alibaba if the ownership structure isn't revised and Alipay eventually lists on its own. Bankers have struggled to value the payments unit since its financial results aren't disclosed and Alibaba has no direct ownership.

Bernstein Research分析师Carlos Kirjner估计，阿里巴巴的价值在2,400亿至2500亿美元之间，其中支付宝的价值估计仅60亿美元，这也反映出了在支付宝所有权结构不进行调整且最终单独上市的情况下，可能需向阿里巴巴支付的上述金额。