Indonesia has the world’s fourth-largest population, boasting a young, internet-savvy demographic, and a thriving ecommerce market that is increasingly attracting global investors. Earlier in 2016, Alibaba bought a controlling stake in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group for around USD 1 billion, while a group of investors led by private equity firms KKR & Co and Warburg Pincus poured more than USD 550 million into Indonesian ride-hailing start-up Go-Jek.
To promote growth in the ecommerce industry, the government is setting up a “steering committee” consisting of 10 ministers for which it has asked Alibaba’s Ma to be an adviser, Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara said, the source cites. Rudiantara is part of President Joko Widodo’s delegation attending the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.
According to the source, an Alibaba spokeswoman confirmed that Ma was asked to be adviser to Indonesia’s ecommerce steering committee, but declined to say whether he had accepted the offer.
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