As the negotiation to acquire stakes in Indonesia’s Tokopedia failed to come through, JD is looking toward Thailand as its new focus

In June, JD chief executive Richard Liu announced that the Chinese internet giant is looking for a local partner in Thailand to help itself expand to the market.

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that JD is currently in talks with Thai conglomerate Central Group to launch an e-commerce joint venture (JV) in the country, with a planned total investment of US$500 million.

The report surfaced after JD ended talks to acquire Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia, which ended up raising US$1.1 billion investment from JD’s rival Alibaba.

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Citing at least two anonymous sources, the report said that the JV will focus on e-commerce and finance sectors. The deal is yet to be finalised as the companies are unable to agree on ownership terms.

JD has declined to comment while Central Group did not respond to requests for comments.

For Central Group, the new JV will be its second attempt to enter Thailand’s e-commerce market after its acquisition of Zalora Thailand, which was announced in April 2016.

Outside of China, JD has been focussing heavily in Indonesian market with its online shopping mall JD.id and an investment in online travel agency Traveloka.

Its presence in Thailand will serve as a hub to connect with other markets in the region, such as Malaysia and Vietnam.

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