(Yicai Global) Oct. 23 -- Alibaba Group Holding's cloud unit has opened two data centers in the United Kingdom as it looks to ramp up operations in Europe.

Alibaba Cloud will use center to offer its cloud computing services, such as elastic computing, online storage, security, to clients in the UK, it said in a statement yesterday. The firm built its first European data center in Germany in 2016.

"Our expansion into the United Kingdom, and by extension into Europe, is in direct response to the rapidly increasing demands we have seen for local facilities within the region," said Yeming Wang, general manager of Alibaba Cloud's operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Editor: James Boynton