Richard Liu JD CEO Credit-JD.com

Richard Liu, CEO and founder, JD.com (image credit: JD.com)

China’s second largest e-commerce company JD.com is looking to expand to Thailand before the end of the year, according to Reuters.

JD.com will set up its Thai operations as a South East Asian hub, serving markets such as Vietnam and Malaysia.

Founder and chief executive, Richard Liu, told Reuters that JD.com would be investing “a lot” in its Thai operations and seeking out local partners to work with, adding he was confident JD.com could compete with rival Alibaba both in Thailand and across South East Asia.

'When we entered the e-commerce business 12 years ago … Alibaba was already a giant. It couldn't kill us. How can it do so today?' Liu told Reuters. 'Unless we make some serious strategic mistake, no competitors can actually beat us nowadays.'

The expansion adds to JD.com’s operations in China and Indonesia.