China's Alibaba Group acquires Daraz

[Abdullah719]

Chinese tech giant Alibaba in negotiations to buy Daraz.pk

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is considering acquiring Rocket Internet’s online retail unit in Pakistan to help China’s biggest e-commerce company expand its reach in the South Asian nation, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

The companies are negotiating a price for Rocket’s retail unit Daraz, according to the person, who asked not to be identified since the discussions are private. The deliberations are an early state and no decisions have been made, the person said. Alibaba’s spokesman declined to comment, while Daraz didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The development comes after Alibaba’s Ant Financial decided to purchase a 45 percent stake in Telenor Microfinance Bank, a subsidiary of Telenor Group, for $184.5 million last week to further develop mobile payment and digital financial services in the nation of more than 200 million people. Elsewhere in Asia, Alibaba is gearing up for an intense battle in Singapore, where Amazon.com Inc. has started operations and Sea Ltd.’s Shopee is expanding to win consumers.

Pakistan’s burgeoning youth has turned the nation into the world’s fastest growing retail market with stores and e-commerce both growing together, bucking the trend in many developing nations. Pakistan’s market may expand 8.2 percent a year through 2016-2021 as disposable income rises, according to research group Euromonitor International.

Pakistan has 30 million active Internet users, and brands are redoubling their attention to e-commerce, Daraz said in a statement last month. Alibaba’s interest in Pakistan comes on the back of Beijing’s financing of about $60 billion in infrastructure projects across the country as part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road trade initiative.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...o-mull-buying-rocket-internet-s-pakistan-unit

 

[R3verse Swing]

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is considering acquiring Rocket Internet’s online retail unit in Pakistan to help China’s biggest e-commerce company expand its reach in the South Asian nation, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

The companies are negotiating a price for Rocket’s retail unit Daraz, according to the person, who asked not to be identified since the discussions are private. The deliberations are an early state and no decisions have been made, the person said. Alibaba’s spokesman declined to comment, while Daraz didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The development comes after Alibaba’s Ant Financial decided to purchase a 45 percent stake in Telenor Microfinance Bank, a subsidiary of Telenor Group, for $184.5 million last week to further develop mobile payment and digital financial services in the nation of more than 200 million people. Elsewhere in Asia, Alibaba is gearing up for an intense battle in Singapore, where Amazon.com Inc. has started operations and Sea Ltd.’s Shopee is expanding to win consumers.

Pakistan’s burgeoning youth has turned the nation into the world’s fastest growing retail market with stores and e-commerce both growing together, bucking the trend in many developing nations. Pakistan’s market may expand 8.2 percent a year through 2016-2021 as disposable income rises, according to research group Euromonitor International.

Pakistan has 30 million active Internet users, and brands are redoubling their attention to e-commerce, Daraz said in a statement last month. Alibaba’s interest in Pakistan comes on the back of Beijing’s financing of about $60 billion in infrastructure projects across the country as part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road trade initiative.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...o-mull-buying-rocket-internet-s-pakistan-unit

Mashallah!

I love the bold emphasis.

Pakistan’s burgeoning youth has turned the nation into the world’s fastest growing retail market, and this with all the political issues! Just imagine, once the political issues are resolved, Pakistan's economy will leave it's neighbouring economies for dust!

Pakistan is THE place to invest in the SC.

 

[Abdullah719]

I've heard a lot of negative stories about Daraz. Has anyone here used it? How was the experience? Other e-commerce options?

 

[Syed1]

This is big news for Pakistan. Daraz.pk was growing very very rapidly and being acquired by Alibaba is only a sign of how good the local startup was.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Mashallah!

I love the bold emphasis.

Pakistan’s burgeoning youth has turned the nation into the world’s fastest growing retail market, and this with all the political issues! Just imagine, once the political issues are resolved, Pakistan's economy will leave it's neighbouring economies for dust!

Pakistan is THE place to invest in the SC.

It would be better to be producers than consumers though I would have thought.

 

[DeadBall]

I've heard a lot of negative stories about Daraz. Has anyone here used it? How was the experience? Other e-commerce options?

Did order a lot of things from Daraz during my time there, the quality depended but the process was professional, a few of them even arrived in the same day. However once, the delivery guy tried to ring the bell for 15 mins even though there was no electricity so much as the neighbors had to intervene. Tipped him a 100 more for his efforts.

 

[Pakistanian]

This is the dream for most start ups - get bought out for a lot of money by a bigger company.

 

[PetroDollars]

how is ecommerce in pakistan doing, is it all on COD or do people pay online with cards.

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

Good for Daraz. Happy to hear about this.

 

[Hermoine Green]

I've heard a lot of negative stories about Daraz. Has anyone here used it? How was the experience? Other e-commerce options?

Best in Pakistan, excellent service.

Quality depends upon the provider, but in most of the cases the quality is same which is shown at their web.

Good thing is money back guarantee, so if you are not satisfied with the product received, you can return the item (did it twice).

Negative stories are mostly circulated by rival companies.

 

[Mian]

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1705095/2-chinas-alibaba-group-acquires-daraz/

FRANKFURT: Alibaba Group has bought the entire share capital of Rocket Internet’s Daraz Group, Rocket Internet said on Tuesday, without disclosing financial details of the transaction.

Daraz, founded in 2012, operates online marketplaces in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The unit will continue to operate under the same brand following the sale to Alibaba, Rocket said.

“Daraz will be able to leverage Alibaba’s leadership and experience in technology, online commerce, mobile payment and logistics to drive further growth in the five South Asian markets that have a combined population of over 460 million, 60% of which are under the age of 35,” said the statement.

The acquisition comes months after Ant Financial, controlled by Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma, decided to buy a 45% in Telenor Microfinance Bank for $184.5 million to further develop mobile payments and digital financial services.

The acquisition is seen by experts a step in the expansion plan Ma has set out in the over $330-billion economy with a young population and bulging middle class.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alibaba Group Daniel Zhang said the acquisition will empower entrepreneurs to better serve consumers in the region.

 

[Mian]

So they also invested in Telenor Easypaisa? Thats a great news if Paypal ain't gonna work in Pakistan than we really need to develop a payment gateway that works for Pakistanis

 

[DeadBall]

Used to shop a lot from Daraz. Surprisingly efficient, payment on delivery and money back guarantee.

 

[Mian]

Used to shop a lot from Daraz. Surprisingly efficient, payment on delivery and money back guarantee.

The biggest credit that goes to them is introducing black friday sale and making cash on delivery popular in pak market.

 

[Syed1]

Used to shop a lot from Daraz. Surprisingly efficient, payment on delivery and money back guarantee.

Sir in another thread you said Daraz wasn't upto standards

 

[Syed1]

This is excellent news for Pakistan and will give a big boost to the SME sector

 

[Varun]

So they also invested in Telenor Easypaisa? Thats a great news if Paypal ain't gonna work in Pakistan than we really need to develop a payment gateway that works for Pakistanis

Why doesn't Paypal work in Pakistan?

 

[Mian]

Why doesn't Paypal work in Pakistan?

Say thanks to our IT Ministry and State Bank. Paypal and Ebay team came twice for talks but we were unable to convince the. Paypal dont support Pakistan from the very beginning and our freelancers and IT companies are not able to capture big share in the industry instead they are left with very little choices.

 

[DeadBall]

The biggest credit that goes to them is introducing black friday sale and making cash on delivery popular in pak market.

Yeah I still receive the promotion emails but sadly can't avail of the offers.

 

[Varun]

Say thanks to our IT Ministry and State Bank. Paypal and Ebay team came twice for talks but we were unable to convince the. Paypal dont support Pakistan from the very beginning and our freelancers and IT companies are not able to capture big share in the industry instead they are left with very little choices.

Pity, it's a great payment gateway for freelancers as you mention.

 

[DeadBall]

Sir in another thread you said Daraz wasn't upto standards

Please link me to that comment and I will grant you whatever you desire.

Nvm found it

Did order a lot of things from Daraz during my time there, the quality depended but the process was professional, a few of them even arrived in the same day. However once, the delivery guy tried to ring the bell for 15 mins even though there was no electricity so much as the neighbors had to intervene. Tipped him a 100 more for his efforts.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...iations-to-buy-Daraz-pk&p=9669647#post9669647

Now where does I say that it wasn't up to standards. In fact I was praising them for their professionalism and persistence.

 

[Syed1]

Please link me to that comment and I will grant you whatever you desire.

Nvm found it



Now where does I say that it wasn't up to standards. In fact I was praising them for their professionalism and persistence.

Ok ok I may have confused you with someone else.

 

[jusarrived]

Dont know much about the company , but its kind of disappointing when such successful homegrown companies gets bought over by Big MNCs ..a lost opportunity to create a Pak brand .

 

[Xoib]

Dont know much about the company , but its kind of disappointing when such successful homegrown companies gets bought over by Big MNCs ..a lost opportunity to create a Pak brand .

As with Flipkart ?
The local start ups can only grow to a point when the big sharks like alibaba enter the market you can only compete to an extent their big pockets and global name will eventually overcome you.

 

[Sam18696]

I've heard a lot of negative stories about Daraz. Has anyone here used it? How was the experience? Other e-commerce options?

I ordered a few things from Daraz like video games and they delivered it on time.

But today their service has been really poor.

There's an HBL shopping festival going on and their payment system isn't working. I tried to order God of War but not only did they cancel the whole order, but my 500rs voucher was used up.

Disgusting.

 

[jusarrived]

As with Flipkart ?
The local start ups can only grow to a point when the big sharks like alibaba enter the market you can only compete to an extent their big pockets and global name will eventually overcome you.

yup like FlipKart , which is worse considering they have had their noses ahead in spite of Amazons deep pocket . if they could get ~15 billion for 70% stake , raising funds was never a problem and if they wanted could have matched Amazons spending not giving up the controlling stake . I dont agree that local startups cannot compete , you just need staying power and these days if the business model is good its not difficult to get funds and local players will always have an advantage over MNCs of knowing the market better .

 

[sweep_shot]

Chinese technology giant Alibaba on Friday confirmed plans to list in Hong Kong in what it called a $13 billion vote of confidence in the turbulent city's markets and a step forward in its plans to go global.

The enormous IPO, which Hong Kong had lobbied for, will come as a boost for authorities wrestling with pro-democracy protests that have tarnished the financial hub's image for order and security and hammered its stock market.

Alibaba will offer 500 million shares at a maximum of HK$188 apiece to retail investors, the company said. The number eight is considered auspicious in China.

Over-allocation options could take the total value to more than $13 billion, making it one of the biggest IPOs in Hong Kong for a decade after insurance giant AIA raised $20.5 billion in 2010.

Alibaba had planned to list in the summer but called it off owing to the city's long-running pro-democracy protests and the China-US trade war. The US and China are now working on sealing a partial trade deal.

Daniel Zhang, Alibaba Chief Executive Officer, said the group wanted to "contribute, in our small way, and participate in the future of Hong Kong".

"During this time of ongoing change, we continue to believe that the future of Hong Kong remains bright," he said.

The firm's shares are already traded in New York. A second listing in Hong Kong is expected to curry favour with Beijing, which has sought to encourage its current and future big tech firms to list nearer to home after the loss of companies such as Baidu to Wall Street.

In the statement, Zhang said that when Alibaba went public in 2014 it "missed out on Hong Kong with regret".

Going global
Mainland authorities have also stepped up moves to attract such listings, including launching a new technology board in Shanghai in July.

The listing comes after the city's exchange tweaked the rules to allow double listings, while Chief Executive Carrie Lam had also been pushing Alibaba's billionaire founder Jack Ma to sell shares in the city.

"The listing in Hong Kong will allow more of the company's users and stakeholders in the Alibaba digital economy across Asia to invest and participate in Alibaba's growth," the company said.

It has long been expected to launch a multibillion-dollar stock listing in Hong Kong but appeared to postpone the offering because of political and economic turmoil.

Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index rose 0.48 percent in morning trading following the announcement

Chinese shoppers set new records for spending on Monday's annual 24-hour "Singles' Day" buying spree, despite an economic slowdown in the country and the worries over the US trade war.

It said consumers spent $38.3 billion on its platforms over that stretch, up 26 percent from the previous all-time high mark set last year.

Alibaba also said it saw record amounts of cross-border sales, underlining its plans to expand globally.

"Globalisation is the future of Alibaba Group. We firmly believe the marriage of digital technology and commerce will bring about unprecedented change that will not be limited by borders," Zhang said.

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1516907/alibaba-confirms-huge-hong-kong-public-listing-worth-at-least-13bn.

 

[sweep_shot]

Shares in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba have surged in its Hong Kong trading debut in one of the year's most anticipated stock offerings.

The firm, which is already traded in the US, raised around $11.3bn (£8.8bn) in its secondary listing.

At the launch, Chairman Daniel Zhang cheered Alibaba's return to Hong Kong.

The move is seen as a boost for the city amid fears long-running protests have tarnished its reputation as a financial hub.

In opening moves on Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index on Tuesday, Alibaba's stock jumped more than 6%.

The company was met with strong appetite for its shares, priced at HK$176 each.

Mr Zhang struck the gong at the ceremony at the city's exchange and welcomed the firm's return "home" to Hong Kong.

He was joined by the territory's Financial Secretary Paul Chan and former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa.

The Hangzhou-based firm had originally considered a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) in 2013, but opted for New York after failing to secure regulatory approval in the Asian territory.

Over the years, Alibaba has grown from an online marketplace into an e-commerce giant with interests ranging from financial services to artificial intelligence.

Ahead of its Hong Kong debut, the company said the listing would allow investors across Asia to "participate in Alibaba's growth," as it seeks to tap "substantial new capital pools" in the region.

The share sale has knocked Uber off the top spot as this year's biggest IPO, according to Dealogic data. The ride-sharing firm raised $8.1bn in its New York float in May.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50554391.