Alibaba acquires Daraz to expand e-commerce reach in South Asian Markets

With the acquisition of e-commerce platform Daraz Group for an undisclosed sum, Alibaba has expanded its reach into South Asia Markets.

Daraz, owned by European tech start-up incubator Rocket Internet was founded in 2012 and operates in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Nepal. It has 30,000 sellers and 500 brands on its platform.

The deal, which had been widely rumoured, is the latest in a series of moves by Alibaba to expand beyond its home market.

Last year the online giant increased its stake in South East Asia business Lazada – also a Rocket Internet company – from 51% to 83% and has invested in Indian platform Paytm.

Daraz was co-founded by current iflix Pakistan general manager Farees Shah in collaboration with Rocket Internet.