China e-retailer JD.com ending sales in Thailand, Indonesia

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese online retailer JD.com Inc. is closing its consumer e-commerce services in Indonesia and Thailand amid intense competition in Southeast Asia.

The e-commerce service will stop taking orders Feb. 15 in both countries and shut down in March, according to announcements Monday on the two websites.

JD.com said in a separate statement it would develop its cross-border supply chain business that serves Southeast Asia and other global markets. The company operates or manages warehouses or industrial parks in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

E-commerce vendors in Southeast Asia have been squeezed by intense competition, including from JD.com’s Chinese rival, Alibaba Group.

JD.com reported a profit of 6 billion yuan ($800 million) in the quarter ending in September on sales of 243.5 billion yuan ($34.2 billion). That was an improvement from a loss of 2.8 billion yuan ($370 million) on sales of 218.7 billion yuan ($32.4 billion yuan) in the same period a year earlier.

JD.com’s foreign operations and other “new business” accounted for just over 2% of total sales, the company said.

The Associated Press