Alibaba to pour $1.1 billion into South Korean market in chase for growth

Alibaba is planning to invest over $1 billion in South Korea in the next three years according to the country’s news outlet Yonhap, in a quest to tap market potential. The report, citing business plans submitted to the government, said Alibaba is set to build a logistics center equivalent in size to 25 soccer fields, while investing $100 million to help small- and medium-sized merchants sell worldwide via Alibaba’s international retail platforms including Lazada and Miravia. In a possible curb on Alibaba’s ambitions, South Korea’s Personal Data Protection Commission announced an investigation into the collection and handling of personal information on cross-border shopping platforms used by Korean users, including Alibaba-owned AliExpress. [Yonhap, in Chinese]