Jul 4--ALIBABA Group plans to pump a further US$1 billion in Lazada Group, raising its total investment in Lazada to $2 billion. The latest transaction will give Alibaba an 83 per cent stake in the Singapore-headquartered e-commerce retailer.

　　Lazada's well-developed warehouse and delivery business will enable Alibaba to expand rapidly into Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, reports New York's Air Cargo World.

　　Lazada's markets are critical to Alibaba's growth strategies, given their low extant e-commerce penetration at three per cent, overall strong growth rates and combined market size of $560 million.

　　"The e-commerce markets in the region are still relatively untapped," CEO of Alibaba Group, Daniel Zhang, was quoted as saying. "We will continue to put our resources to work in Southeast Asia through Lazada to capture these growth opportunities."

　　With assistance from Alibaba, Lazada established an e-fulfillment centre in Malaysia as part of Alibaba's Electronic World Trading Platform. Lazada also launched Taobao Collection in Singapore and Malaysia.

(Source:shippingazette)