China’s JD.com invests in Vietnam’s leading B2C company Tiki

JD.com, China’s largest online retailer, has expanded its foothold in Southeast Asia with its latest investment in Tiki, Vietnam’s leading B2C e-commerce platform, which would allow the two to work on a range of areas including merchandising, cross-border trade, logistics, technology, financing, and operational capabilities.

JD.com already has an established e-commerce platform in Indonesia, and recently partnered with Thai conglomerate Central Group to enter Thailand. With its investment in Tiki, the company adds Vietnam to its growing Southeast Asia presence, amid growing competition with other e-commerce giants such as Alibaba. 

Upon completion of this investment, JD.com will become one of Tiki’s largest shareholders, said the company in an announcement today.

“We are very excited to continue our Southeast Asia expansion with Tiki, a company that has a deep understanding of Vietnam and a reputation for outstanding customer service,” said Winston Cheng, president of International at JD.com.

“With JD’s expertise in leveraging social media for e-commerce, Tiki’s partnership with VNG in social network and mobile payments is a natural fit as we aim to provide differentiated services to suppliers and consumers in Vietnam. We look forward to working with Tiki to deliver a truly world class e-commerce experience to Vietnamese consumers.”

“We are delighted to partner with JD.com, China’s most trusted online retailer, as we enter a new phase of growth,” said Son Tran, Tiki’s founder and CEO.

“JD and Tiki share the same business philosophy: to win market share by winning consumers’ heart. Since inception, Tiki has always focused on best-in-class, authentic shopping experience and amazingly fast delivery. We believe JD.com, with its proven track record in superior user experience, procurement, logistics, and technology will be an invaluable asset for Tiki as we work to become Vietnam’s top e-commerce platform.”

According to the statement, Tiki and JD will cooperate to deliver a wider authentic selection from global brands to consumers, while helping Vietnamese local brands in expanding internationally via JD’s global platform. It’s not immediately known if local Vietnamese beers would be among the merchandise sold on JD.com.

Vietnam is one of the world’s top 10 highest beer consuming countries, and it produced 3.78 billion litres of beer in 2016, with Saigon Alcohol Beer and Beverages Corporation contributing the most (1.6 billion litres), followed by Hanoi Alcohol and Beverages Corporation (717.4 million litres), wrote Vietnam Net.

Last week, JD.com announced a plan to sell €2 billion worth of French products to China during a meeting between its founder and French president Emmanuel Macron.

JD launched its Indonesian business in 2015 and formed its joint venture with Central Group in Thailand in 2017.