Alibaba Collaborates With South Korea's First Billion Dollar Online Grocery App: Report

Alibaba Group Holding Limited's BABA RedMart has been instrumental in helping South Korea's first billion-dollar online grocery app, Market Kurly's overseas expansion, Bloomberg reports.
Now Singaporeans can buy Market Kurly's ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat meals via the app, owned by Alibaba unit Lazada.
The meals included frozen snacks and Korean-style cold soba from Gwanghwamun Mijin, a storied decades-old restaurant in Seoul.
The online grocery app looks to expand from the initial launch of 44 products to chilled food and possibly non-food daily products in the future.
"Singapore is a melting pot of culture and food," Market Kurly CEO Sophie Kim said. Lazada and RedMart's "nationwide reach allows us to tap their expertise and skills, and the ability for us to use that data for future product roll-outs."
Market Kurly braced for an initial public offering at home. It attracted nearly 1 trillion won ($767 million) in fundraising ahead of its debut.
Alibaba's hunt for overseas growth has become critical to offset sluggish demand at home. Its Southeast Asian offshoot, Lazada, aims for local European vendors, while Alibaba's existing global platform, AliExpress, will continue to focus mainly on cross-border sales from China.
Price Action: BABA shares traded lower by 1.84% at $89.51 in the premarket on the last check Wednesday.