Google invests $550m in JD.com

Google has revealed a $550m investment deal with ecommerce giant JD.com.

The strategic partnership deal with China's second-biggest online retailer will see the two companies work together in order to boost JD.com's online platforms across South East Asia and beyond.

This includes improving supply chain and logistics operations for Google in the region, and JD.com benefiting from Google's technological expertise, the two companies said in a statement.

"We are excited to partner with JD.com and explore new solutions for retail ecosystems around the world to enable helpful, personalized and frictionless shopping experiences that give consumers the power to shop wherever and however they want,” said Google chief business officer Philipp Schindler.

Google China investment

For its part, Google will received more than 27 million shares in JD.com, CNBC reports.

JD.com is second only to Alibaba in China's booming e-commerce market, offering a huge potential market for Google and its customers.

The deal will also see JD.com products appear on Google Shopping in the US and Europe. The service displays items at the top of Google's search pages, allowing users to compare prices across different websites.

“This partnership with Google opens up a broad range of possibilities to offer a superior retail experience to consumers throughout the world,” said JD.com’s chief strategy officer Jianwen Liao. “This marks an important step in the process of modernizing global retail...(and) opens a new chapter in our history.”