That follows a cash injection of US$378.25 million in May, bringing the total investment by Alibaba into the Singapore-based e-commerce company to US$1.3 billion since the beginning of 2022. Lazada is majority owned by Alibaba.
DealStreetAsia has approached Lazada for comment.
Earlier this year, Alibaba was said to be looking to raise at least US$1 billion for Lazada before shelving talks with potential investors after a disagreement over Lazada’s valuation. The proposed financing was seen as a precursor to a spinoff and an initial public offering by Lazada, Bloomberg had reported.
Alibaba has ambitious plans for Southeast Asia. Last year, the Chinese company told investors that it is targeting a long-term goal of quintupling its gross merchandise value to US$100 billion and sees Lazada eventually serving 300 million users, according to another Bloomberg report.
At the same time, Alibaba is planning to bring the Singapore-based company to new markets including Europe, according to media reports.
In China, Alibaba continues to face challenges on multiple fronts, including a government crackdown on tech companies, ongoing Covid-19 lockdowns and an increasingly saturated consumer sector that is slowing growth.
This is already beginning to show on Alibaba’s financials. Earlier this month, Alibaba posted revenue of 205.55 billion yuan (US$31 billion) for the quarter ending June, recording flat year-on-year growth for the first time in its history.
The upheaval has so far led to yet another management change at Lazada. James Dong took over as CEO in June, making him the company’s fifth CEO in five years. Dong, who previously served as CEO of Lazada Thailand and Vietnam, replaced Chun Li, who had helmed the business since July 2020.
Lazada, once a major e-commerce leader in Southeast Asia, has recently been trailing local upstarts such as Sea Group’s Shopee and Indonesia’s Tokopedia.
Meanwhile, the global market slowdown has not eased competition. ByteDance’s TikTok has been doubling down on Southeast Asia, aggressively expanding in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.