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Dong Jingyi, a reporter from 21st Century Business Herald, reports from Shanghai

What developments have occurred in the cross-border e-commerce industry in the past week (August 12-18)?

Industry Overview

China Chamber of Mechanical and Electrical Industry: EU's imposition of anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles may lead to loss of investment by Chinese companies

On August 16, the European Commission is expected to disclose the final ruling of the anti-subsidy investigation against Chinese electric vehicles at the end of August this year, and make a final ruling before November 4. The China Chamber of Mechanical and Electrical Industry said that Chinese electric vehicle companies are closely following the progress and results of the EU anti-subsidy investigation, and will assess the investment risks in Europe and make investment decisions accordingly. For EU countries that intend to attract Chinese automakers to invest, supporting taxation may result in losing investment, while an open and fair EU market is more attractive to Chinese companies.

Türkiye to impose tax on cross-border goods over 30 euros

Turkey issued new tax rules on overseas e-commerce shopping on the 6th, reducing the tax-free amount and increasing the product tax rate, aiming to support local businesses and protect domestic small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the new rules, for goods ordered from abroad, the price of more than 30 euros will be taxed. The previous tax-free amount was 150 euros. The new rules will be implemented in mid-August. According to statistics, in the first half of 2024, the number of cross-border online shopping transactions in Turkey increased by 17%, and the transaction volume increased by 95% year-on-year.

Report: Overseas retail e-commerce will reach $3 trillion in 2024

On August 16, the "White Paper on the Development Trend of China's Export Cross-border E-commerce in 2024" was released in Guangzhou. The report shows that the scale of overseas retail e-commerce will reach 3 trillion US dollars in 2024 and is expected to grow to 4 trillion US dollars in 2028. The number of Chinese sellers with sales of more than 1 million US dollars on Amazon has increased by nearly 55% in two years, and product innovation has become the key to high-quality overseas sales.

my country opened more than 70 international cargo routes in the first half of the year

On August 11, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing learned that, against the backdrop of growing demand for air logistics, a total of 90 new cargo routes were opened across the country in the first half of this year, including more than 70 international cargo routes; the total air transport turnover was 70.3 billion ton-kilometers, an increase of more than 30% year-on-year.

Company News

Southeast Asian e-commerce platform Lazada announces profit

On August 13, Southeast Asian e-commerce platform Lazada recorded a positive EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in July this year and achieved profitability. On the morning of August 13, Lazada revealed the above news at an internal meeting. Previously, Lazada Thailand had made a profit in 2022. It is revealed that Lazada CEO Dong Zheng said in an internal speech that this profit proves the effectiveness of Lazada's business strategy, and Lazada will continue to increase its investment in the Southeast Asian market under a sustainable operating model.

Alibaba Financial Report: International Business Continues to Maintain Rapid Growth

On the evening of August 15, Alibaba released its Q1 results for fiscal year 2025. Alibaba's international e-commerce business maintained strong growth, with revenue increasing by 32% year-on-year to RMB 29.293 billion, of which international retail business grew rapidly by 38%. The financial report shows that the strong performance was driven by the growth of cross-border business, especially the AliExpress Choice business. AliExpress orders continued to grow rapidly, and continued to focus on logistics experience with Cainiao, and the average delivery time was further shortened.

Amazon launches "refund only" feature

On August 16, Amazon issued an announcement, announcing that it would "expand sellers' options for handling customer returns" and provide US sellers using Amazon Logistics (FBA) with a flexible "(refund) no return" option to efficiently handle their inventory. This "refund only" feature applies to products priced below $75. Amazon also emphasized that "eligibility for this solution is subject to legal, safety and regulatory guidelines." At present, Amazon does not force sellers to enable the refund only feature, which is turned off by default in the seller's backend settings.

Alibaba's Cainiao launches local express delivery service in Hong Kong

On August 13, Alibaba's Cainiao announced the official launch of local express delivery services in Hong Kong, launching a one-stop e-commerce logistics solution for "business to consumer" and a "consumer to consumer" "Cainiao EASY delivery" service. Zhu Rui, head of local express delivery at Cainiao Group in Hong Kong, pointed out that the service will be launched in phases at more than 700 pick-up points in Hong Kong. Currently, about 80 pick-up points have been opened, and it is expected to be expanded to all by the end of this year.

Yang Yuanqing: Lenovo's Middle East business will grow from 1.2 billion to 6 billion US dollars in three years

During the first fiscal quarter, Lenovo Group announced a strategic partnership with Alat, a company under the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund that focuses on transformative technology investment and sustainable manufacturing: Alat proposed to provide Lenovo Group with a $2 billion interest-free convertible bond investment. Currently, Lenovo Group's Middle East business is about $1.25 billion, accounting for about 2% of the company's total. Lenovo Group Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing said at the financial report media communication meeting, "Our goal is to achieve nearly 10% of Lenovo's total revenue in the Middle East through this strategic cooperation, which is $6 billion, which is amazing."

Sea’s second quarter financial report: Shopee raises full-year GMV guidance

On the evening of August 13, Sea, the parent company of Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, released its financial report for the second quarter of 2024. The report showed that the group's total GAAP revenue reached US$3.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 23.0%, exceeding the market expectation of US$3.71 billion. The total gross profit was US$1.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.2%, and the net profit decreased from US$331 million in the same period last year to US$79.91 million, a decrease of 75.9%, and a turnaround from the previous month.

Among them, the GAAP revenue of the main business of e-commerce was US$2.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 33.7%. Sea Group expressed satisfaction with Shopee's market share and leading position in Southeast Asia, and expected Shopee's adjusted EBITDA to turn positive from the third quarter, while raising the full-year GMV growth forecast to around 20%.

Shopee Vietnam CEO expresses support for local manufacturing development

Shopee Vietnam claims that it will focus on supporting local manufacturers, with the clothing industry as a key area. Tran Tuan Anh, CEO of Shopee Vietnam, said that Vietnam has advantages in production, but the sales of products in the domestic market are limited, partly due to the lack of exporters' understanding of the domestic market and the low popularity of e-commerce. Currently, Shopee is working with partner companies to vigorously promote domestic sales of products, and the platform is responsible for operation and promotion with remarkable results. It is worth noting that Vietnam's e-commerce market has unlimited potential. Even with 14 million stores and 9,000 platforms, e-commerce is still showing strong growth after the epidemic. In 2023, Vietnam's e-commerce growth rate will be as high as 25%, ranking among the top in the world.

Sanyang and Jitu form strategic partnership to accelerate overseas expansion

On August 12, Three Sheep announced that it had signed a global strategic cooperation agreement with Jitu Express. The two parties will further consolidate and develop their business base in China and jointly explore logistics solutions under new business models such as cross-border e-commerce. At the same time, they will further accelerate the layout of Southeast Asian and global market business. It is understood that at present, the overseas business of Three Sheep Group has been deployed in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the United States and other markets.

Walmart: Total revenue in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 increased by 4.8% year-on-year

Walmart released its financial report, with total revenue of US$169.3 billion in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, a year-on-year increase of 4.8%; adjusted operating profit was US$7.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%. Among them, Walmart China's net sales in the second quarter were US$4.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.7%, comparable sales increased by 13.8%, and e-commerce net sales increased by 23%.

TikTok Shop will soon launch a store deposit policy in the US

According to official news from TikTok Shop, starting from August 16, TikTok Shop in the United States will launch a "store deposit" policy for cross-border self-operated merchants.

Amazon to test drone deliveries in UK

On August 15, local time, British regulators announced that Amazon Prime Air delivery drones have been approved to test beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights in the UK, paving the way for its expansion of drone delivery business. It is reported that Amazon Prime Air is only one of the six drone projects selected by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Other test projects include inspecting offshore wind farms, air traffic control, policing and providing emergency medical supplies.