SHANGHAI, Sept 9 — China’s Alibaba Group said today it may re-evaluate its relationship with its largest stakeholder Yahoo Inc, after a Yahoo Hong Kong executive was quoted as saying the firm may compete in the mainland online advertising market.

Yahoo Hong Kong’s managing director Alfred Tsoi Po-tak was quoted by the South China Morning Post on Monday as saying the firm was thinking of luring online advertisers from the mainland to advertise on the site.

Such a move could put Yahoo Hong Kong, the territory’s leading portal, in direct competition with Alibaba Group’s subsidiaries, such as Alibaba.com.

“If Yahoo begins to compete with Alibaba for customers in China, we will have to re-evaluate our relationship with Yahoo further in light of this activity and the intentions it implies,” said Alibaba Group’s spokesman John Spelich. — Reuters