DUBAI, May 12  -- Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba and Dubai's state-owned developer Meraas signed a deal Tuesday to establish a joint venture providing big data and cloud computing services in the Middle East and North Africa, the firms said in a joint statement.

The joint venture will be headquartered in Dubai, according to the agreement, which was signed at the Alibaba campus in Hangzhou, China.

The new venture will specialize in application development, service-oriented architecture, testing, validation, citizenship E-services and big data operations, with a focus on analytics and payment solutions, the statement said.

News of the deal with Meraas came after Alibaba bought a large stake in U.S. online retailer Zulily for 56 million dollars, allowing it to gain footing across the Pacific.

Alibaba has been eager to stretch its business network to overseas markets following its success in China.

Meraas is known for developing residential and commercial property in Dubai and across the Middle East and North Africa.

The firm also has an investment arm, Meraas Capital, engaging in asset management in the U.S. property market.