Furthermore, the ecommerce company intends to take control of a USD 20 billion unit, underpinning an aggressive overseas expansion. Thus, Alibaba is investing 5.3 billion yuan in Cainiao Smart Logistics Network to boost its stake to 51% from 47%. The company’s investment in Cainiao signals its intention to boost control over the domestic warehousing and delivery market, which has become increasingly competitive as companies seek to capitalize on logistics data assets.
The announcement comes as Alibaba is rapidly expanding its ecommerce and logistics network abroad, including newly announced direct sales channels in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, facilitated by a USD 2 billion investment in Lazada Group, a Southeast Asian online retailer, in July 2017.
Alibaba co-founded Cainiao in 2013, with partners including department store owner Intime Group, conglomerate Fosun Group and a few logistics companies. It oversees roughly 57 million deliveries a day.
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