Rakuten to Launch E-Commerce Service in Malaysia

New Internet Shopping Mall to bring top products and Japanese service standards to Malaysian consumers

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24, 2012 -- Rakuten, Inc. (JASDAQ: 4755), Japan’s top e-commerce company, today announced plans to launch an Internet shopping mall in Malaysia, Rakuten Online Shopping. The service will introduce consumers in Malaysia to an entirely new and unique online shopping experience. Rakuten is currently recruiting merchant partners to populate its online shopping mall leading up to its launch in late 2012.

Rakuten Online Shopping will focus on offering consumers in Malaysia the best local and international goods while employing Japan’s world famous customer service standards. Rakuten Online Shopping expands Rakuten’s footprint in South East Asia, marking its third e-commerce market entry in the region, following TARAD.com in Thailand in 2009, and Indonesia’s Rakuten Belanja Online in 2011.

“The Rakuten shopping experience brings the best of both worlds to consumers and merchants,” said Rakuten Online Shopping President and Chief Executive Officer Masaya Ueno. “We empower merchants with the platform, tools and know-how they need to run successful online businesses. We also enable them to customize their storefronts to maximize their own brand appeal and allow them to communicate directly with their customers. This flexibility and interaction bring the online shopping experience to life and puts the fun back in shopping.”

In 1997, Rakuten launched a pioneering e-commerce platform, Rakuten Ichiba, in Japan that utilizes a business to business to consumer (B2B2C) model, whereby merchants build online storefronts on the marketplace and sell directly to consumers. This unique model empowers consumers and merchants alike and has driven Rakuten to become the world’s third largest e-commerce company by revenue.

Ueno explained, “Malaysia is an attractive market owing to its economic stability and well-equipped infrastructure for the development of e-commerce, including Internet, logistics and online payment facilities. Malaysia market growth and encouraging online shopping trends present Rakuten with a bright opportunity in this market.”

“The market indications validate our timely entry into the market. At this initial phase, Rakuten seeks to partner mid-sized and large retailers across industries in Malaysia including fashion and apparel, IT and electronics, books and luxury goods,” added Ueno. “We aim to foster continued e-commerce growth in Malaysia by transferring our knowledge and helping retailers to make online shopping a truly viable and sustainable business, leveraging on our 15 years of e-commerce expertise.”

Malaysia is a growing market that boasts a very high Internet penetration rate among the ASEAN countries, and the online shopping market is set to grow at an accelerated pace in the future. Internet retailing reached RM842 million in 2011 and the number is expected to exceed RM1.9 billion by 2016 .

乐天(Rakuten)在马来西亚推出电子商务服务
全新网上购物广场带来最佳商品为马来西亚消费者提供日本服务标准

吉隆坡，2012年5月24日 – 乐天公司（JASDAQ证券交易所: 4755）是日本顶尖的电子商务公司今天正式宣布在马来西亚推介乐天网上购物。此服务将为马来西亚消费者带来全新和独特的网上购物体验。乐天目前正在招募商务合作伙伴，以加入即将在2012年秒推介的网上购物广场。

乐天网上购物将专注于提供给消费者最好的本地和国际产品，同时更提供拥有享誉全球最佳服务的日本客户服务标准。乐天网上购物将是续2009年在泰国推介的TARAD.Com及2010年在印尼推介的Belanja Online后，在东南亚的第三个电子商务市场。

“乐天网上购物将为消费者和商家带来最棒的体验。”乐天网上购物主席和行政总裁马萨亚野说到：“我们为商家提供一个平台、工具和技巧诀窍，让他们更成功的进行网上企业。我们也让他们可以定制自己的店面，以最大限度地提高自己的品牌号召力，让他们直接与客户沟通。这种灵活性和互动生活，让网上购物体验和购物变得乐趣无穷。”

在1997年，乐天首开先河开拓电子商务平台。日本乐天市场利用企业到消费者(B2B2C)模式，让商家建立网上店面，并直接与消费者接洽。这独特的模式获得消费者和商家一致好评，并成功让乐天成为世界上收入第三大的电子商务公司。

亚野解释说：“马来西亚是一个很有吸引力的市场，因为它有稳定的经济和良好的电子商务基础设施，包括互联网、物流和网上支付设施。马来西亚市场在持续成长，网上购物趋势也越来越好，这所有皆为乐天提供了一个充满潜能的市场。”

“市场迹象显示这正是进入市场的最佳时刻。在这个初始阶段，乐天寻求来自全马各行各业的合作伙伴，包括中型和大型的零售商，同时涵盖时尚和时装、科技和电子产品、书籍和各种高尚产品。”亚野补充说。“我们的目标是利用我们在电子商务的15年专业经验，把我们的知识传授给马来西亚的零售商，为他们建立网上购物并成为一个真正可行和持续性的业务。”

马来西亚是一个不断成长的市场，在东盟国家中拥有非常高的互联网普及率。同时网上购物市场也将在未来的日子快速成长。在2011年，网上零售达842万令吉，而估计在2016 年将超越1.6亿令吉。