News

Alibaba expands e-commerce reach with acquisition of South Asia-based Daraz

Alibaba has expanded its reach into South Asia after confirming the acquisition of e-commerce platform Daraz Group for an undisclosed sum.

Daraz, founded in 2012 and owned by European tech start-up incubator Rocket Internet, operates in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Nepal. It has 30,000 sellers and 500 brands on its platform.

The deal, which had been widely rumoured, is the latest in a series of moves by Alibaba to expand beyond its home market.

Last year the online giant increased its stake in South East Asia business Lazada – also a Rocket Internet company – from 51% to 83% and has invested in Indian platform Paytm.

Daraz was co-founded by current iflix Pakistan general manager Farees Shah in collaboration with Rocket Internet.

Shah told Mumbrella Asia last year after launching iflix in Pakistan that the market was ripe for e-commerce expansion with an explosion of Internet and smartphone use.

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella Asia newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing