National e-commerce competition will get tighter than it already is. Alibaba Group has recently announced that Alibaba investment to Lazada will be increased up to US$2 billion. This will inevitably make Lazada Indonesia has abundant money to compete with other e-commerce platforms, such as Tokopedia and Bukalapak.
Alibaba Group Holding on Monday, 19 March 2018, said Alibaba investment to Lazada Group was one of the strategies to accelerate Lazada’s growth as biggest e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia.
With the addition of Alibaba investment to Lazada, Alibaba will invest a total of US$4 billion for Lazada Group.
Lazada Group itself is an e-commerce platform that operates in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Alibaba investment to Lazada Group begins in 2016 where the Chinese-based firm puts US$1 billion. Then, Alibaba’s investment to Lazada Group is increased to another $1 billion thus making Alibaba owns 83% shares in Lazada Group.
Alibaba investment to Lazada Group shows that e-commerce prospect in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, is getting brighter in the future. Alibaba’s investment to Lazada Group is expected to improve Lazada’s service to consumers via various innovations.
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In addition to informing on Alibaba’s investment to Lazada that goes up, Alibaba on that day announced management changing in Lazada Group. For instance, Lucy Peng will take helm as the CEO of Lazada Group from previous position as the chairman.
“With young population demography, high mobile penetration and with just 3% of overall retail sale that goes online, we are very certain we will improve and double our growth in Southeast Asia. Lazada has good position to take a further step from internet-enabled commerce in this region,” said Peng.
It isn’t without reasons that Alibaba investment to Lazada is increasing, one of the purposes is making the money to affirm its position in Indonesia’s market. This is because more than 50% of the country’s total population or about 143 millions have been connected by internet as of last year, says latest survey from Indonesia Internet Service Organizer Association or APJII.
Furthermore, the report says 72.41% from the total internet users live in urban cities. They have made use internet not only as a means for communication but also for goods purchasing, vehicle ordering and setting up own businesses. No wonder that online stores in Indonesia have kept mushrooming.
So, which are most-sought e-commerce platforms in Indonesia last year?
According to a research by iprice.co.id, Lazada Indonesia and Tokopedia are two most-searched e-commerce platforms based on data from Google Trends throughout 2017, one of the reasons are Alibaba’s investment to Lazada that makes it owns shares to 83% from 51% as of last year. Bukalapak and Shopee compete each other in the third and fourth position, respectively. Shopee records consistent growth in 2017. Blibli.com ranks number 5.
