JD.com to Shut Indonesia, Thailand Shopping Sites in Focus Shift

Jane Zhang, Bloomberg News

A woman stands next to signage incorporating the logo of JD.com Inc. and the company's mascot "Joy" at the company's headquarters in Beijing, China, on Monday, Oct. 23, 2017. JD.com is China's second-largest online mall. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese online retailer JD.com Inc. is closing its Indonesia and Thailand e-commerce sites as the company shifts its overseas strategy toward supply-chain and logistics services.

JD.ID in Indonesia will stop accepting orders from mid-February and all services will be stopped by the end of March, while JD Central in Thailand will cease its operations from March 3, according to statements on the businesses’ websites.

The company, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s biggest rival, is pivoting its international businesses toward services such as supply-chain management and warehousing. It is among Chinese tech giants that are curbing spending to weather slowing growth caused by three years of Covid restrictions and the government’s crackdown on powerful internet firms.

“JD.com will continue to serve the global markets, including Southeast Asia, through its supply chain infrastructure,” the company said in an email. “We are developing in international markets by focusing on building a cross-border supply chain network with logistics and warehousing at the core.”

The company launched JD.ID in 2015 with investors including Provident Capital, with operations starting in 2016. In 2018, it started JD Central in Thailand with Central Group, the nation’s biggest retail conglomerate.

--With assistance from Yoolim Lee, Norman Harsono and Anuchit Nguyen.