Thai consumer goods giant Saha Pat, Lazada tie up for e-commerce

Thailand's top consumer goods manufacturer Saha Pathana Inter-Holding Pcl will partner with Southeast Asian e-commerce platform Lazada Group to tap growing demand for online shopping, Saha Pathana said on Thursday.

Saha Pathana, part of Thailand's largest consumer product conglomerate, Saha Group, expects the partnership to help boost its online sales to 10 percent of the total over the next three years from 1 percent currently, Chairman Boonsithi Chokwatana said at a news conference.

The company will offer its products through the Lazada website and network, and plans to invest about 1 billion baht ($29.5 million) to build a new inventory warehouse, which is expected to be completed next year, he said.

Lazada, 83-percent-owned by Alibaba Group Holding, began operations in Thailand five years ago.

The group plans to invest in inventory warehouses in Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor, a government industrial estate project, Alessandro Piscini, CEO of Lazada Thailand, told the news conference.

There is growing interest in Thailand's e-commerce sector. Earlier this month, China's second largest e-commerce platform, JD.com Inc, said that it was looking to make an investment in Thailand by the end of this year.

($1 = 33.96 baht)