JD.com, JD Finance and Central Group to Launch E-commerce and Fintech Services Joint Ventures in Thailand

 

 

Partnership between Thai retail giant and leading Chinese e-commerce and fintech companies to reshape Thailand online retailing and finance landscapes

BANGKOK, Thailand and BEIJING, Sept. 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — JD.com (JD), (NASDAQ:JD), China’s largest retailer, leading Chinese fintech company JD Finance, Thailand’s largest retail conglomerate Central Group, and Provident Capital today announced an aggregate investment of up to $500 million to establish two joint ventures in Thailand covering e-commerce and fintech services, respectively.

Under the terms of the agreement, half of the investment will come from Central Group, with the remainder coming from JD.com, JD Finance and Provident Capital, which is also JD.com’s strategic partner for its Indonesian e-commerce business.

JD.com will provide its extensive expertise in technology, e-commerce and logistics to the e-commerce joint venture. Meanwhile, the fintech services joint venture will benefit from JD Finance’s deep knowledge in the financial technology sector, including its experience building out easy-to-use fintech services in developing markets using its artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other industry-leading technology capabilities. Across both businesses, Central Group will leverage its immense retail resources, including its physical store network, which will serve as key omni-channel and payment locations, its wealth of brand and merchant relationships, as well as its retail behavior insights from its hugely popular customer loyalty program, “The 1 Card.” To strengthen the product offering, and to accelerate its own omni-channel growth, Central Group will open multiple flagship stores on the e-commerce platform for its department stores and key retail chains, as well as for select brands owned or operated by Central Group.

“Thailand’s large population and developed infrastructure, including strong national logistics networks, give it tremendous potential for both e-commerce and fintech services,” said Richard Liu, JD.com’s Chairman and CEO. “Working with Thailand’s strongest retail conglomerate, with a massive shopping mall and department store network, gives us a huge competitive advantage as we expand further into Southeast Asia.”

“JD’s proven track record of successfully building out national online retail businesses made it the obvious choice to be our e-commerce partner,” said Tos Chirathivat, Chief Executive Officer of Central Group. “Thailand’s mobile-driven population, with its increasing consumer spending power, means that e-commerce is ready to explode, and this partnership is poised to capture the country’s consumers as they migrate online. This move marks a key step in Central Group’s goal to become Thailand’s online retail leader.”

About JD.com, Inc.

JD.com is both the largest e-commerce company in China, and the largest Chinese retailer, by revenue. The company strives to offer consumers the best online shopping experience. Through its user-friendly website, native mobile apps, and WeChat and Mobile QQ entry points, JD offers consumers a superior shopping experience. The company has the largest fulfillment infrastructure of any e-commerce company in China. As of June 30, 2017, JD.com operated 7 fulfillment centers and 335 warehouses covering 2,691 counties and districts across China, staffed by its own employees. JD.com is a member of the NASDAQ100 and a Fortune Global 500 company.

About JD Finance

Established in late 2013, JD Finance is one of China’s leading fintech companies. The company has 10 major business lines: supply chain finance, consumer finance, crowdfunding, wealth management, payments, insurance, securities, rural finance, financial technology and an international business line. As of June 30, 2017, JD Finance has served more than 500,000 corporate clients and 150 million individual consumers. JD Finance leverages its big data and industry-leading technology to provide comprehensive and modularized services to various financial institutions and help the industry to increase revenues, improve efficiency and reduce costs. In June 2017, JD Finance spun off from JD.com to become an independent entity.

About Central Group

Central Group Co., Ltd., a leading business in Thailand and Southeast Asiawith expertise in many sectors, is divided into 9 business groups: department stores, consumer goods, construction materials, home decoration, electrical appliances, shopping malls and real estate, stationery, books, online, hotels and resorts, management and marketing of fashion products, restaurants, and businesses in Vietnam. The company also proudly owns “Luxury Collection,” a group of prestigious department stores in Thailand and Europe.

Central Group is in a state of constant development, expanding its businesses in both the region and overseas, where it is recognized at an international level with high trustworthiness and brand credibility. It has become renowned among both Thais and foreign tourists, as well as businesspeople in the retail sector in many regions around the world for more than 70 years. Central Group has now expanded its business worldwide to more than 3,075 locations both in Thailand and abroad with over 80,000 staff who have a true service mind.

About Provident Capital

Provident Capital is a privately owned investment firm focused on Southeast Asia. It has key investments in the internet sector, telecom towers and gold and copper mining.