The Amazon of China?

You may not have heard of JD.com (Nasdaq: JD), but plenty of retailers in China have, as it’s much like the Amazon.com of China. Along with Alibaba, which is a lot like eBay, JD is one of China’s top online retailers.

Between 2014 and 2017, JD.com’s share of the Chinese e-commerce market grew from 18 percent to 33 percent, according to Analysys International Enfodesk. This was fueled by four factors: First, JD gained new customers as many smaller business-to-consumer marketplaces collapsed. Second, its biggest investor is Tencent, which owns WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app. Tencent’s integration of JD’s marketplace into WeChat significantly strengthened JD’s position against Alibaba. Third, JD attracted partnerships from a growing list of companies that want to counter Alibaba’s growth. Last, JD owns and operates its own warehouses and logistics network, while Alibaba mainly relies on third-party merchants and logistics providers. This makes it easier for JD to keep counterfeit products out of its marketplace.

JD.com’s revenue and earnings have been growing robustly, at a double-digit clip, and it’s positioned to benefit from growth in the Chinese economy, as more Chinese join the middle class, as well as from the secular increase in e-commerce sales, as internet and mobile access expands and technology and delivery capabilities improve.

For long-term investors who can handle some risk, JD.com is worth consideration. (The Motley Fool has recommended and owns shares of JD.com.)