Google Invests $550 Million in Chinese E-Commerce Giant JD.com

On June 18, JD.com announced a strategic investment of $550 million from Google and an establishment of a broad strategic partnership between both parties.

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According to the statement, the new partnership will see cooperations in a series of strategic projects, one of which is to develop retail solutions for regions including the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia. An array of products from JD.com will also be made available for purchase on Google Shopping in several regions around the world.

Chinese media reports that Google will receive around 27.1 million shares of JD.com stocks at $20.29 per share – this is less than 1% of JD.com, according to a spokesperson from the company.

This news comes on JD.com‘s anniversary (June 18), which is also the date of the popular 618 mid-year shopping festival.

The new partnership with Google could be the start of a series of global alliances JD.com is making to contend with Alibaba‘s global expansions. Other shareholders of the second-largest Chinese e-commerce platform include Walmart and Tencent, one of Alibaba‘s biggest rivals.

“This partnership with Google opens up a broad range of possibilities to offer a superior retail experience to consumers all around the world,” says Liao Jianwen, chief strategy officer at JD.com.

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“We are excited to partner with JD.com and explore new solutions for retail ecosystems around the world to enable helpful, personalized and frictionless shopping experiences that give consumers the power to shop wherever and however they want,” Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer said in a statement.