With huge growth potential, Vietnam's The CrownX received 400 million yuan in investment!

Due to the rapid development of online grocery demand and e-commerce market in Vietnam , the region has huge growth potential, attracting the attention of many investors. Chinese giant Alibaba was attracted by these factors and made a 400 million yuan investment .

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and other partners have jointly invested US$400 million in The CrownX, the retail subsidiary of Vietnamese conglomerate Masan.

Tech in Asia, a Singapore-based technology media company , said the investment was seen as an opportunity for Alibaba's e-commerce platform Lazada to build a business relationship with VinMart in the online grocery business. Consumers can place orders on the Lazada platform and pick up their goods at VinMart, providing convenience for consumers.

Kenny Ho, head of Southeast Asia investments at Alibaba , said the combination of Alibaba's online retail knowledge , Lazada's e-commerce platform in Vietnam and Masan's leading offline network will be a powerful catalyst to modernize Vietnam's retail landscape.

WinMart will be Lazada's preferred grocery retailer, while its stores will be used as pick-up points for online orders, Ho said.

According to Tech in Asia, Alibaba's investment shows that the company is taking advantage of the pandemic to drive growth in demand for online groceries .

The sudden outbreak has boosted groceries , making them the hottest e-commerce category . According to a report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, the number of Vietnamese consumers choosing online shopping doubled in 2020, and more than 75% said they would continue to choose this shopping channel even after the epidemic ends .

Another reason for Alibaba to invest in Vietnam is its high growth potential. According to the Vietnam e-commerce and Digital Economy Agency, Vietnam's e-commerce market expanded by 18% to $11.8 billion last year, making it the only country in Southeast Asia to achieve double-digit growth during the pandemic.

Vietnam's e-commerce could grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18.8% between 2020 and 2024 , rising in value to $26.1 billion, said a report by market research firm Global Data's e-commerce analytics company.

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