Berlin
Jack Ma is expanding his reach in Pakistan, striking a deal for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to buy Rocket Internet SE-backed online retailer Daraz.
Financial details weren’t disclosed on the deal, which will see Alibaba take control of an online retailer that sells everything from fashion to electronics. Daraz is also active in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
Pakistan’s burgeoning youth has turned the nation into a fast-growing consumer market of more than 200 million people. That presents a growth opportunity for Daraz with the market forecast to expand 8.2 per cent a year through 2021 amid rising disposable incomes, according to Euromonitor International.
The deal comes just a couple months after Ant Financial, which is controlled by Ma, decided to buy a 45 per cent stake in Telenor Microfinance Bank for $184.5 million to further develop mobile payments and digital financial services.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is forecasting a better-than-expected 60 per cent surge in revenue this year, counting on an international expansion and new businesses from cloud computing to supermarkets to sustain a sizzling pace of top-line growth.
The e-commerce giant’s outlook for the year ending March outstripped projections for growth of 42 per cent, and came after it reported quarterly results that also beat estimates. In the March quarter, net income fell 29 per cent as spending ballooned, and sales from core commerce rose 62 per cent to 51.3 billion yuan.
