Amazon China is Merging with NetEase Kaola on Cross-border Shopping

Amazon China and NetEase Kaola, a cross-border e-commerce, are negotiating to merge their overseas purchase business. Led by Kaola, the merger might be completed by split-offs.

Both sides signed a contract in the end of 2018, but it hasn’t come without its challenges. Amazon China is a mighty company with its own concerns, not just a simple buyer or a seller.

“Both companies put forward their conditions, and the negotiation has been through every kind of difficulty that you can think of,” an insider told Caijing.

Amazon China website
Amazon China website

Amazon opened its China branch in 2004 by acquiring Joyo.com, a Chinese online shopping website. Its business now covers cross-border purchase, books, e-books, Kindle devices and Amazon Web Services that provide on-demand cloud computing platforms.

As for how business will be re-arranged between the two companies, an e-commerce investor told Caijing that Amazon China will likely keep its subsidiary business in opening stores globally to sell Chinese products. But its cross-border online shopping section will probably merge with Kaola to go public later. However, neither Amazon China and Kaola have confirmed anything.

“Mergers will embrace more varieties, rather than focus on Alibaba and Tencent, in the near future,” said an investment banker.

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