Alibaba Invests $634 Million in Lazada

Southeast Asian e-commerce giant Lazada has received an additional investment of $634 million from its parent company, Alibaba Group, as reported by Tech in Asia citing data from Alternatives.pe. This capital infusion is part of Alibaba‘s strategic reassessment and adjustment, bringing the total investment into Lazada for this year to over $1.8 billion.

Lazada, established in 2012 with its headquarters in Singapore, has a significant presence in six countries in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Following its acquisition by Alibaba in 2016, Alibaba now holds a controlling stake of 83% in Lazada. Over the years, Lazada has seen substantial investments from Alibaba, with $1 billion in 2017, $2 billion in 2018, over $1.6 billion in 2022, and now over $1.8 billion this year.

Since Alibaba‘s comprehensive involvement, Lazada has been on a continuous path of strengthening its infrastructure, concurrently drawing on Alibaba‘s wealth of technology and human resources. Lazada has made significant strides in expanding its logistics network, establishing at least 30 warehouses, “last mile” delivery centers, and over 3,000 self-pickup points in 17 cities across its six markets. Furthermore, since 2017, Lazada has been leveraging Alibaba‘s tech team to upgrade and rebuild its original technology system.

As per the data from 2021, Lazada has managed to amass 130 million annual active consumers, with a monthly active user base growth of over 70%, reaching 159 million.

In terms of leadership, Lazada’s management team has seen several shifts. It has been steered by a succession of leaders from Alibaba, including Peng Lei, Pierre Poignant, who served as the special assistant to the chairman and CEO of Alibaba, and Chun Li, the former president and CEO of Lazada Indonesia.

The most recent change saw Jiang Fan taking the helm from Chun Li in 2022. Prior to his appointment, Jiang Fan conducted extensive market reviews in Southeast Asia and Europe, leading to a reorganization of Lazada’s management team. Jiang Fan, who joined Alibaba in 2013, held the position of president of Taobao and Tmall in 2019 before assuming his current role as the CEO of Alibaba‘s International Digital Commerce (AIDC) in 2022.

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