Global e-commerce giant Amazon is set to launch its services in Singapore, marking its entry into Southeast Asia.
According to popular tech site Techcrunch, the launch could happen as early as this week, based on the teasers posted on social media by the influencer community in the island republic.
Among the influencers include Jaime Teo, theramengirl, Charmaine Seah-Ong, and lifestyle portal superadrianme.com with the hashtag #dontsaybojio.
While there is no official Amazon branding present in the teasers, keen eyed users managed to spot the distinctive blue tick, which is used by Amazon Prime Now.
The launch, according to the portal, will see services such as Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime Now fast delivery and Amazon’s e-commerce services made available to Singapore’s population, which numbers over five million people.
No details on pricing are available at the moment.
Amazon's move is timely as rival Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has been rapidly expanding in Southeast Asia over the past year, led by major investments in Malaysia like the Digital Free Trade Zone, its first e-hub outside of China along with the availability of the Alipay digital wallet and Alibaba Cloud service.
This announcement, however, comes after Alibaba Group Holding Limited owned by founder Jack Ma set their sights on Malaysia instead of Singapore.
According to TechWire Asia, Malaysia is seen as an “emerging hub next to Singapore” and is a “good choice, logistically.”
While both countries boast among the busiest container ports in the world with access to the prime location along the Malacca Strait, an important shipping artery connecting the West to the East, Malaysia has an advantage.
Operational and labour costs in Singapore are substantially higher compared to Malaysia, TechWire Asia highlights.
Source : The Star Online, Malaysian Digest
