SoftBank gives Korean online retailer Coupang $2bn shot in the arm
The unprofitable start-up is now in a position to take on rivals with new cash booster
Seoul — SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund was investing $2bn in South Korea’s top e-commerce company Coupang, the retailer said on Tuesday as the unprofitable start-up got prepared to battle rivals backed by the country’s cash-rich chaebol. The latest investment follows the $1bn that SoftBank invested in Coupang in 2015 and valued the eight-year-old start-up at about $9bn, said a source close to Coupang. Coupang has grown rapidly to become a major player in the country’s e-commerce market. It clocked 2.7-trillion won ($2.4bn) in revenue last year, with its online sales almost as much as the next three largest e-commerce sites in the country combined, according to research firm Statista. But it also posted big losses, totalling 1.9-trillion won ($1.7bn) over the past five years as it poured money into building new technology and its logistics infrastructure. “The $2bn we are receiving now is exciting, because we can invest in more technology platforms that enable this innovation,” said Co...
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