US internet behemoth Google has announced it’s investing half a billion dollars in China’s second-largest e-commerce company, JD.com. The move is meant to expand its retail services around the world.Google said Monday it would invest over $500 million (€431 billion) in Chinese online shopping platform JD.com.
The announcement came as the US giant was pushing Google Shopping, a platform allowing customers to compare prices between different sellers and posing a challenge to Amazon.
The investment means the marrying of JD’s supply chain and logistics experience with Google technology to create next-generation, personalized retail in regions including Southeast Asia, the United States and Europe.
Money for shares
“The partnership with Google opens a broad range of possibilities to offer a superior retail experience to consumers throughout the world,” JD Chief Strategy Officer Jianwen Liao said in a statement.
For its investment, Google will receive 27.1 million newly issued JD Class A ordinary shares, the California-based firm said.
In China, JD competes aggressively with e-commerce leader Alibaba, which runs the popular Taobao and Tmall shopping platforms.
However, its partnering with JD is unlikely to improve Google’s status in mainland China where Gmail, Google Search and Google Maps are all blocked by authorities.
hg/jd (AFP, Reuters)
