E-Commerce

Alibaba Group has announced plans to invest an additional US$2 billion in the Lazada Group, an e-commerce platform operating in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Following this, Alibaba will have invested a total of US$4 billion in Lazada, including this additional US$2 billion investment. In 2016, Alibaba acquired a controlling stake in Lazada exchange for US$1 billion. ... Read More »

Standardized Accounting and Payment Processing for E-Commerce at Arvato Financial Solutions. Designed for international use and highly scalable. Aqount, Arvato Financial Solutions now allows retailers to take complete control of all their financial processes.  Aqount is the ideal solution for companies wishing to outsource complex and time-consuming financial processes from receivables management and payment processing to debt collection. Aqount is ... Read More »

Led by Amazon in the US, which accounted for nearly half of all of American ecommerce sales in 2017, online sales are a growing part of consumers’ buying habits, worldwide. These changing habits also present increased opportunities for fraudsters, who use evolving tactics and stolen payment card information to commit e-commerce fraud.  FICO’s European Fraud Map shows that card-not-present (CNP) fraud, which ... Read More »

Stake will be first since Ant’s controversial 2011 spin out Alibaba also raised sales forecast after results top estimates Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will buy 33 percent of Ant Financial, assuming to clear the way for an initial public offering of the Chinese payments giant. Alibaba will acquire new shares in its finance affiliate in exchange for certain intellectual property rights, ... Read More »

Opportunity to transform from retail from physical to digital Alibaba has pumped billions into investments including its own grocery chain, a shopping mall group, an electronics retailer, and now the Walmart-like Sun Art. (Indeed, Walmart (WMT, +0.93%) and Sun Art compete in China.) Alibaba has proved itself a canny innovator, prompting speculation about its intentions. It’s not simply a hunt ... Read More »

Amazon Lending & Six Alternative Funding Options for Your Business Amazon Lending is an invitation-only short-term business loan that helps Amazon sellers fund inventory purchases.  But it’s not something growing sellers can tap for other business needs like marketing, facilities, or staffing.  For these, sellers must turn to funding sources like Payability, savings, or credit solutions. Here’s what to expect ... Read More »

According to a recent article in the FT shares in Rocket Internet fell sharply, after the Berlin-based tech investor said it would take longer than planned for some its key portfolio companies to swing into profit. Some investors also voiced disappointment that the group failed to provide clarity on how and when it would deploy its €1.6bn cash pile. The ... Read More »

Notwithstanding concerns of slowing growth at Alibaba Holdings in particular and Chinese GDP in general the growth of e-commerce E-commerce appears to move upwards unabated. Today, as Alibaba and top rival JD.com Inc. bask in the glow of very strong third-quarter and Singles Day numbers, such worries are looking antiquated. Just as Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN – Get Report) has been ... Read More »

Banks around the world have spent the past few years preparing for competition from small, nimble technology startups. It turns out the real threat may be Jeff Bezos and Jack Ma. Financial institutions have parried the threat from fintech firms by incorporating some of their innovations through partnerships and in-house coding teams, according to McKinsey & Co.  In its annual banking report, ... Read More »

His Excellency Dr. Pichet Durongkaveroj, Minister of Digital Economy and Society gave the opening keynote address at the BIIA 2017 Biennial Conference on Digitization on October 19th, 2017.     In his riveting speech Dr. Pichet emphasized the importance of digitization in economic and social development.  In order to realize the benefits of digitization we need to look far ahead. ” ... Read More »

Chinese internet regulators said they have fined operators of three of the country’s biggest social-media platforms with the maximum fine allowable under a new cybersecurity law for hosting fake news, pornography and other forms of banned content. The Cyberspace Administration of China didn’t disclose the amount of the fines handed down to the platforms, which are owned in whole or part by ... Read More »

Alibaba, Paytm Could Make Joint Investment In BigBasket Alibaba and India-based digital payment company Paytm are gearing up to invest around $200 million in Indian online grocer BigBasket. According to a report in VCCircle, citing people familiar with the matter, an announcement about the investment could come any day. With the investment from the online retail platform and the eWallet ... Read More »

Shenzhen-listed Zhejiang Netsun reported revenues of US$26 million for the six months ended 30th June 2017.  This represents a year-on-year increase of 39%. Profits in the period were US$2.0 million, representing growth of 8.2% compared to the same period in 2016. Diluted earnings per share in the first half of the year were RMB0.05 (US$0.0074). According to Netsun’s management, the ... Read More »

Hong Kong-listed HC International revenues jumped 188% in the six month period ending June 30th, 2017, reaching US$198 million.  Profit in the first half was US$16 million which represents an increase of 270%. Diluted earnings per share were RMB 0.1039 (US$0.015). HC International’s largest business, its B2B trading platform, generated revenues of US$69 million. That represents about 35% of total ... Read More »