Alibaba at the 2021 Investor Day that was held on 16-17 December revealed an ambitious vision to grow its Southeast Asian e-commerce arm, Lazada, business to $100 billion in transacted sales-usually defined as gross merchandise value (GMV)-on its platform by 2030. The company also announced its plan to reach 300 million consumers by that time.

Lazada’s GMV for the last twelve months from September 2021 reached $21 billion, with 159 million monthly active users.

Alibaba’s goal to quintuple Lazada’s GMV is seen as part of the company’s plan in looking overseas for sources of growth amid increased competition and a slowing economy in the Chinese market. In doing so, the Chinese company will focus on driving the evolution of e-commerce in Southeast Asia. 

According to Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang, the company sees a “huge potential in the international markets” in the region.

“In Southeast Asia, ecommerce penetration is only 11%, and Lazada’s annual consumers have reached only 34% of regional Internet users,” Zhang said. “There’s tremendous potential in both the overall market size and our penetration.”

Zhang announced in a separate presentation that the company also aims to achieve carbon neutrality in its operations by 2030. It plans to reduce the amount of emissions across its supply chain and business ecosystem by half. In doing so, it will use more renewables as well as “energy-saving and efficiency-improving technologies”.

This pledge is consistent with China’s long-term mission to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, as the country is currently seen as the world’s biggest carbon emitter, responsible for nearly a third of global emissions.

Alibaba, which took a controlling stake in Lazada in 2016, will also mobilise consumers, merchants, business partners and service providers to participate in their carbon reduction efforts. Some strategies, such as promoting green products and green transportation as well as encouraging the reuse and resale of pre-owned goods, will be done to achieve the carbon reduction plan.