Alibaba Plans to Grow Southeast Asia E-Commerce Arm Lazada to $100 Billion

Alibaba unveiled an ambitious plan this week to develop its Southeast Asian e-commerce company to $100 billion in transactional sales, as well as a goal to become carbon neutral by 2030. In presentation slides posted to its site for its annual Investor Day, when it generally reveals sales numbers and future objectives of its business divisions with investors, China's largest e-commerce giant presented its vision for its Southeast Asian e-commerce affiliate Lazada on Friday. During a presentation on Friday, Alibaba's chief executive Daniel Zhang also discussed the company's carbon emission ambitions.

The goal to quintuple Lazada's overall gross merchandise volume — defined as the entire amount of sales transacted on its platform — came as the Chinese business sought new development opportunities outside of its home market, where it faced greater competition and a weakening economy. "As a result, GMV and revenue growth have slowed in the most recent quarter," he explained. "However, we see chances to tap into new addressable markets and attract new consumers, which will help us position ourselves effectively in the long run." With 159 million monthly active users, Lazada's gross merchandise volume for the previous twelve months from September 2021 hit $21 billion.