Alibaba injects $845 million into Southeast Asia unit Lazada

SINGAPORE: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd injected $845 million into Lazada, its online retail business in Southeast Asia that is facing intensifying competition from rivals including Sea Ltd and Amazon.com Inc.

The capital injection, disclosed in a regulatory filing in Singapore on Wednesday, brings the total Alibaba has invested in the arm to several billion dollars since it gained control of the business in 2016. Representatives for Alibaba and Lazada did not respond to requests for comment.

Lazada is part of the international online shopping unit that Alibaba plans to take public in the United States. The Chinese tech giant is splitting into six parts to spur growth in its various businesses, which include e-commerce, logistics and cloud.

Alibaba has in the past explored separating from Lazada. The unit, purchased in stages from Rocket Internet SE, is considered one of the Chinese firm’s highest-profile international brands. It competes with Amazon and Sea’s Shopee in Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

In 2022, Alibaba discussed raising at least $1 billion for Lazada before calling off negotiations with potential investors when talks stalled over its valuation. His goal was to secure financing as a precursor to a spin-off. Alibaba has since suspended fundraising and pumped additional funds into the company.