<article>In its second notable deal in South Asia, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has acquired Pakistan’s e-commerce platform Daraz Group for an undisclosed amount.</article>

In its second notable deal in South Asia, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has acquired Pakistan’s e-commerce platform Daraz Group for an undisclosed amount.
According to a statement by Rocket Internet, the founder and incubator of Daraz, the e-commerce company will continue to operate under the same brand following the transaction.
Founded in Pakistan in 2012, Daraz today also operates online marketplaces in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The five South Asian markets in which Daraz is operating have a combined population of over 460 million, 60 per cent of them under the age of 35.
Pakistan has 30 million active Internet users, and brands are redoubling their attention to e-commerce, Daraz said in a statement in February. A growing young population has turned the nation into the world’s fastest-growing retail market with stores and e-commerce both growing together.
The acquisition of Daraz follows Alibaba’s first major transaction in South Asia in the form of an investment in India’s digital payment firm Paytm in 2015. Last year Alibaba invested in Paytm for the third time, buying a 36.31 per cent stake in its e-commerce subsidiary for $177 million.
The Daraz deal also marks Alibaba’s second acquisition of a Rocket company, after the Chinese company bought Southeast Asian e-commerce firm Lazada from Rocket in 2016.
“The sale of Daraz to Alibaba is another testament to Rocket Internet´s ability to successfully scale and exit market-leading companies,” said Rocket Internet CEO Oliver Samwer.
Recently, Alibaba announced that it is investing $320 million in Thailand as the e-commerce giant aims to tap Chinese consumers’ appetite for the Southeast nation’s agricultural goods and for its tourism market amid growing competition from rivals.
China&#8217;s biggest e-commerce company has also been making a slew of fintech investments in the region. In March, Alibaba subsidiary Ant Financial bought a 45 per cent stake in Telenor&#8217;s fintech unit in Pakistan for $184.5 million. More recently, the financial services giant was in the news for buying a 20 per cent stake in Bangladeshi mobile financial services provider bKash.
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The Daraz deal also marks Alibaba’s second acquisition of a Rocket company, after the Chinese company bought Southeast Asian e-commerce firm Lazada from Rocket in 2016.

Alibaba acquires South Asian e-commerce firm Daraz from Rocket Internet

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Alibaba acquires South Asian e-commerce firm Daraz from Rocket Internet

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