Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is strengthening its South East Asian ties with a major stake investment in online portal Tiki.vn.
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JD.com has increased its stake in the Vietnamese e-tailer, after buying a chunk of Tiki shares for $44 million in November 2017. While the value and share figures are yet to be disclosed for this latest transaction, it has been confirmed that JD.com is now a major owner of Tiki. It joins fellow investor, Vietnamese entertainment and social media firm, VNG Corp.
Founded in 2010, Tiki has reportedly seen triple-digit growth annually over the last seven years. It’s growth needs guidance, however, and the partnering with China’s second-largest e-commerce firm will affirm areas such as merchandising, cross-border trade, logistics and fulfilment, technology, financing, and operational capabilities.
“We are very excited to continue our Southeast Asia expansion with Tiki, a company that has a deep understanding of Vietnam and a reputation for outstanding customer service,” said Winston Cheng, president of international at JD.com.
“With JD’s expertise in leveraging social media for e-commerce, Tiki’s partnership with VNG in social network and mobile payments is a natural fit as we aim to provide differentiated services to suppliers and consumers in Vietnam. We look forward to working with Tiki to deliver a truly world class e-commerce experience to Vietnamese consumers.”
This latest news backs market growth in Southeast Asia’s burgeoning online retail space.
In recent months, Alibaba Group and Amazon.com have both invested in Southeast Asia. Alibaba has focused heavily in payment and e-commerce ventures in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.
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Meanwhile, the U.S. retailer launched its subscription-based Prime service in Singapore last month, in a bid to challenge Alibaba-backed online retailer Lazada Group in South East Asia.
According to Vietnam’s E-commerce and Information Technology Agency, Vietnam e-commerce is set to grow at 20% annually over the coming two years. The country’s total online retail sales are also set to reach $10 billion by 2020.