Firmly optimistic! Giants invest $845 million in Southeast Asian e-commerce platforms

It is understood that Alibaba has recently increased its layout in Southeast Asia and invested an additional US$845 million in its e-commerce platform Lazada.

Alibaba ’s total investment in Lazada, which is part of Alibaba’s global digital business unit that also includes AliExpress, Trendyol and Daraz, has reached billions of dollars, according to the latest amount disclosed in a regulatory filing in Singapore .

It is reported that Lazada was founded in 2012 and received its first investment from Alibaba in 2016, when the Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant initially acquired a controlling stake in Lazada, and later increased its controlling stake to more than 80% through a series of investments.

In May, Alibaba reported a 2% increase in fourth-quarter revenue, and in its earnings announcement earlier this year, it approved the full spin-off of Alibaba Cloud and related matters of providing external financing for multiple business units.

Alibaba’s international business saw quarterly sales rise 29% year-on-year to 18.5 billion yuan ($2.5 billion), according to financial filings, with total order volumes across its Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol and Daraz platforms growing 15% in the period.

Lazada has been expanding its consumer base in Southeast Asia by continuously improving its user engagement programs . In addition, Lazada has also continued to improve its revenue growth by providing more value-added services to continuously enhance its revenue capabilities.

However, Lazada is still facing fierce competition from Amazon and local e-commerce and gaming giant Sea Limit. But the good news is that Alibaba's main domestic competitor JD.com is considering withdrawing from the Southeast Asian market in order to refocus on the domestic market.

In fact, in recent years, the Southeast Asian market has gradually become a hot spot that attracts cross-border sellers more than Europe and the United States. In addition to Lazada, TikTok has also found a business model that suits it in Southeast Asia.

For cross-border sellers, whether they are using e-commerce platforms such as Lazada or social media software such as TikTok, as long as they can showcase their brand characteristics, they will definitely attract interested users.

Southeast Asia

Alibaba

Lazada