Shopee scales up Brazil operations, eyes Latam potential – sources

Shopee, the e-commerce arm of Southeast Asia’s SEA Ltd, is scaling up its operations in Brazil and evaluating the long-term potential of Latin American markets, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Shopee, the largest e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia according to market researchers, launched a small presence in Brazil in late 2019 as a pilot initiative of its cross-border team.

The company is now growing its presence and moving executives from Southeast Asia to Brazil said the sources who were briefed on the matter but declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to media.

The Singapore-headquartered technology group’s shares surged more than 400% in 2020, taking its market capitalization to $120 billion. It raised close to $3 billion in a stock offering last month.

On Linkedin, Shopee is currently recruiting for over three dozen positions in Brazil. Pine Kyaw, formerly country managing director for Shopee’s high-growth Vietnam unit, is listed on the job platform as having become Shopee Brazil country head. Kyaw could not be reached for comment.

SEA Chief Corporate Office Yanjun Wang told an investor call in November that Shopee Brazil, while cross-border driven, was now being used by local sellers.