Alibaba recently announced that it is acquiring a controlling stake in Lazada, a leading e commerce platform in Southeast Asia, facilitating Alibaba’s expansion in the region. Lazada currently operates e-commerce platforms in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and Alibaba’s investment in the company will be around $1 billion. Because Alibaba seeks growth opportunities outside China, the deal makes sense. Lazada’s growing consumer base is in a region with population of more than 550 million, including around 200 million internet users. Alibaba already holds stakes in several e-commerce companies in India and is now looking to directly enter the Indian e-commerce market. We believe expansion beyond China will be a key growth driver for the company. As emerging markets witness significant e-commerce growth in future, they will provide a boost to Alibaba’s revenues in the long term.

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