In a strategic move aimed at consolidating its foothold in Southeast Asia, Chinese tech juggernaut Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has pumped $845 million into Lazada, its e-commerce subsidiary in the region. This latest infusion, unveiled in a regulatory disclosure in Singapore on Wednesday, heightens the battle lines drawn against competing giants such as Sea Ltd and Amazon.com Inc.
Since assuming control over Lazada in 2016, Alibaba has steadily funneled billions of dollars into the venture. Unfortunately, representatives from both Alibaba and Lazada remained tight-lipped, declining to comment on the recent development.
Lazada plays a significant role in Alibaba’s international online shopping division, which the company is contemplating taking public in the United States. In a bold move to stimulate growth across its multifaceted operations encompassing e-commerce, logistics, and cloud services, Alibaba is undergoing a restructuring into six distinct parts.
Previously, Alibaba considered detaching Lazada, a unit they acquired progressively from Rocket Internet SE, and one of the company’s most prominent international brands. Lazada is in stiff competition with Amazon and Sea’s Shopee in thriving Southeast Asian markets like Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.
In 2022, Alibaba sought to raise a minimum of $1 billion for Lazada, a precursor to a proposed spinoff. However, these negotiations were shelved due to disagreements over the company’s valuation with potential investors. Subsequently, Alibaba mothballed the fundraising and instead opted to inject more capital into the business.
This news is based on an article published on bangkokpost.com.
