- Alibaba invests $230M in Lazada, bringing total to $7.7B since 2016.
- Lazada’s low-cost Choice platform competes with Temu and Shein.
- Alibaba streamlines operations after losing ground to PDD Holdings.
Alibaba’s Southeast Asian love affair continues
Alibaba has once again demonstrated its commitment to its Southeast Asia-focused ecommerce platform, Lazada, by investing an additional US$230 million.
According to data from Alternatives.pe, which tracks filings in Singapore, this latest injection brings Alibaba’s total investment in Lazada to approximately US$7.7 billion since acquiring a controlling stake in 2016.
The fresh funding arrives as ecommerce players in Southeast Asia focus on lowering costs to gain a competitive edge. In 2022, Lazada launched its Choice offering, a platform that directly competes with Temu and Shein in the low-cost market.
The Choice platform has already proven successful, helping AliExpress, Alibaba’s global ecommerce marketplace, achieve over 60% order growth in the quarter ending December 2023 compared to the previous quarter, a trend that continued into the first quarter of this year.
Alibaba’s efficiency makeover
In a letter to Alibaba’s staff earlier this year, co-founder Jack Ma emphasized the company’s “surgical approach to cure the ailments of a large company.”
This statement follows Alibaba losing ground to Pinduoduo parent PDD Holdings in terms of shares last year.
Since then, Alibaba has focused on simplifying its business structure and boosting efficiency, such as increasing synergies between its logistics arm, Cainiao, and its ecommerce business.
To read the original article: https://www.techinasia.com/alibaba-adds-fresh-230m-lazadas-coffers
