A joint venture between two major Asian family businesses, Salim Group of Indonesia and South Korea’s Lotte, officially launched its e-commerce platform (iLotte) on Tuesday (Oct 10), Nikkei Asian Review reported. The joint venture (PT Indo Lotte Makmur) will invest US$100 million, equivalent Rp1.35 trillion, for developing iLotte. Indo Lotte will test whether local players will be able to compete against deep-pocketed rivals from China, who see Indonesia as a key market for international expansion. Alibaba Group Holding in particular has invested in some of Indonesia’s top e-commerce players, including Lazada and Tokopedia. Indo Lotte will compete directly with JD.com, one of China’s largest e-commerce companies that has been aggressively expanding its business in Indonesia.

To subscribe please click here