It looks like another acquisition is taking place in the Malaysian e-commence scene. After Alibaba bought a controlling stake in Lazada Malaysia, it was reported that Alibaba and JD.com are competing to take control of Malaysia’s 2nd largest e-commerce site, 11street.
11street Malaysia is an joint venture between Celcom Axiata Bhd and SK Planet Ltd from South Korea. It was earlier reported that SK Planet is pulling out from its overseas business which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey. A few months ago, SK Planet and XL Axiata had sold their stake in Elevenia Indonesia to PT Jaya Kencana Mulia Lestari and Superb Premium Pte. Ltd.
Following the report, SK Planet had clarified that they are committed in the Malaysian market but they are looking at strategic options including funding from strategic partners to prepare them for the next phase of accelerated growth.
As competition heats up in the region, acquisition of a major stake by Alibaba will strengthen its e-commerce foothold in Malaysia. Meanwhile, JD.com would take this as an opportunity to enter Malaysia with significant market share. At the moment, JD.com is reported to make Indonesia their e-commerce centre for the island areas of Southeast Asia while Thailand will be their hub for mainland areas in Southeast Asia.
