Alibaba invests $2b in Southeast Asia's Lazada

It follows a $1 billion investment last year that brought the Chinese group's holding to 83% and was said to value the company at around $3.1 billion. This facilitated an exit for investors Rocket Internet and AB Kinnevik. Other previous backers include Temasek Holdings, Verlinvest, Summit Partners, Tengelmann Ventures and a venture division of J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

Alibaba first invested Lazada in 2016, taking control of the company for $1 billion with a plan to consolidate and expand Southeast Asian operations. Lazada had posted a loss of EUR315.7 million ($390 million) for the prior year, but Alibaba says the company has since helped underpin strong revenue growth for its cross-border retail program.

As part of the latest transaction, Lucy Peng, Lazada’s chairman, will take over as CEO, replacing founder Max Bittner, who has filled the role since the start of operations in 2012. “With a young population, high mobile penetration and just three percent of the region’s retail sales currently conducted online, we feel very confident to double down on Southeast Asia,” Peng said in a statement.

Alibaba has supported Lazada through access to expertise in marketplace technology, payments, and logistics, as well as help with improvements in service quality and customer experience. It claims the platform now hosts more than 145,000 sellers and some 3,000 brands. These clients are said to serve about 560 million consumers across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Growth initiatives under Alibaba ownership have also included the bolt-on of RedMart, a Singapore-based online grocer and cold chain logistics company that had been struggling to secure expansion capital. The acquisition provided an exit for several venture capital investors.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Greater China
• Technology
• Consumer
• China
• Singapore
• Alibaba Group
• TMT
• e-commerce