Google will invest in China’s JD.com as it pushes for a greater presence in e-commerce. The internet giant will be buying newly issued Class A shares with a total value of $550 million (RM2.2 billion).
JD.com and Google are no strangers to each other, both having already invested in Indonesia’s Go-Jek. Fueling its plans for expansions across Southeast Asia. Interestingly, this region is also part of the joint plans to for future retail solutions; with the US and Europe being the other targets.
Google is said to be hoping to leverage JD.com’s expertise in logistics and supply chain to help with its e-commerce dreams. It will also provide a much bigger clout for JD.com in its competition against rivals Alibaba.
This is not the only investment Google is making on the e-commerce front. The company has also struck a deal with Carrefour SA to sell groceries through its Home and Assistant platforms.
An investment in JD.com is perhaps a good sign that Southeast Asia will be the first wave of new Google e-commerce products. Mountain View has limited reach in China, seeing that many of its services are still banned in the country. Leaving this region as the closest markets for any potential new products.
There is unlikely anything to be said about future plans any time soon. But it should signal that the e-commerce battle in Southeast Asia is about to become far more interesting.
[Source: Bloomberg]
