Ali Baba Acquired Pakistan's e-Commerce Giant Daraz.pk

Karachi (Routers) - Alibaba Group has bought the entire share capital of Rocket Internet's South Asian ecommerce platform Daraz Group, Daraz Ceo' Bjarke Mikelson & Jonathan Doer Announced on Tuesday Morning.

It did not disclose financial details.

Daraz, founded in Pakistan in 2012, operates online marketplaces in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The unit will continue to operate under the same brand following the sale to Alibaba, Rocket said.

Rumors of a deal have been rife for the past couple of months.The deal is part of Alibaba’s second wave of international expansions which see it enter South Asia.

The company initially focused on India — where it has backed Paytm — and Southeast Asia with Lazada, but this year it has spread its wings into lower profile but hugely populous countries in South Asia. Pakistan, for example, has a population of over 190 million. The acquisition of Daraz follows a fintech investment from Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, which runs Alipay and other Alibaba financial services.

Back in March, Ant paid $184.5 million for a 45 percent stake in Telenor Microfinance Bank, a fintech division from Norwegian operator Telenor, which operates Pakistan’s second largest telco. That one-two punch of e-commerce and fintech (particularly payments) is a common move from Alibaba-Ant, which has made similar deals in India and across Southeast Asia.

Beyond Pakistan, it looks like Alibaba is also eying nearby Bangladesh, which has a popular of over 160 million and rising internet adoption.

According to reports last month, the Chinese firm is pushing to buy a 20 percent chunk of payment firm bKash, a move that would again push its reach deeper into South Asia.

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Chinese to Acquire Pakistan Post through hostile takeover

After failing to acquire TCS , Chinese firm is interested in Acquiring State Owned Pakistan Post by investing $1 billion under its reform agenda to become a profitable entity.

Pakistan Post has embarked on a comprehensive reform agenda to become profitable. These reforms include: (i) Establishment of Mobile Money Transfer Solution (ii) Pakistan Post Logistics Company and (iii) Re-Branding of Pakistan Post.


Briefing the Senate Standing committee on Communications, Director General Pakistan Post said that a Chinese Company has shown interest to invest $1 billion in the logistic project, besides connecting it with China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). However, it will be carried out through Public Private Partnership and open bidding process. Committee chairman Daud Khan Achakzai said that that the reported company also approached him and showed its interest in investment.

The committee was further informed that feasibility study for the Mobile Money Solution project has been completed in partnership with Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF) and the Request for Proposal (RFP) was approved by the Steering Committee.

RFP was published in the national newspaper on January 24, 2018 and it was also circulated to the companies who participated in the EoI published earlier. Pre-bid investors’ conference is scheduled on February 22, 2018.

The Committee expressed its displeasure over the insufficient staff at National Highway Authority offices in Balochistan and directed the NHA to appoint sufficient staff at lower and higher levels for efficient service delivery. The Committee was given a detailed briefing on the overall breakup of staff deputed in Balochistan.


The Committee also directed the NHA to repatriate the deputationists to their parent departments as per Supreme Court decisions. It was informed that the NHA is working on preparing a detailed report in this regard which will also be shared with the committee. Committee members observed that many officials in NHA are posted on deputation on nepotism, which is negatively affecting the performance.

The Committee expressed its concern over the delayed services of the postal service in Balochistan. The Committee was briefed that shortage of staff and security situation has hampered the efficient service delivery; however, new recruitment is being made under Aghaz e Haqooq Baluchistan and 171 posts in postal service department will be filled to improve the service delivery.


The committee expressed annoyance over non-implementation of its recommendations by the Finance Division with respect to Pakistan Post which could otherwise oust the entity from losses and asked them to attend the next meeting.

It is also noted that Rumors of Ali Baba acquiring Daraz.pk is also in headlines.If Chinese take over Pakistan Post with Largest e-Commerce group than it will be a revolution in technological Sector, creating 5 million Jobs across country.

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Daraz has become largest Site from Pakistan

Daraz.pk has become no.1 Site excluding social sites & Search engines.

Courtesy : Similar Web

Daraz is home to the a wide selection of fashion, electronics, home appliances, kids items and lots more - all at best prices. Daraz.pk offers nationwide delivery directly to your home or office with innovative and convenient payment methods like cash on delivery.

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