Move is part of the US internet giant’s efforts to expand its presence in fast-growing Asian markets and battle rivals including Amazon.com
Google will invest $550 million in Chinese e-commerce powerhouse JD.com, part of the U. S. internet giant’s efforts to expand its presence in fast-growing Asian markets and battle rivals including Amazon.com.
The two companies described the investment announced on Monday as one piece of a broader partnership that will include the promotion of JD.com products on Google’s shopping service.
This could help JD.com expand beyond its base in China and Southeast Asia and establish a meaningful presence in U. S. and European markets.
JD.com’s U. S.-listed shares rose 1.2 percent to $44.10 on the NASDAQ on Monday.
Company officials said the agreement initially would not involve any major new Google initiatives in China, where the company’s main services are blocked over its refusal to censor search results in line with local laws.
JD.com’s investors include Chinese social media powerhouse Tencent Holdings, the arch-rival of Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding, and Walmart.
The partnership not only lets Google bolster its retail ambitions in China but also allows it to further tighten its relationship with Walmart. Together, the two companies could challenge the dominance of Amazon and Alibaba in key markets around the world, analysts said.
In the past year, Google has been partnered with Walmart on multiple fronts. In August 2017, the two companies joined forces to offer hundreds of thousands of Walmart items on Google’s voice-controlled Google Assistant platform to counter the dominance of Amazon in the voice shopping market.
