Malaysia: Aladdin Group returns to market as digital commerce player

Star deal: Signing of Jeryl Lee Pei Ling as brand ambassador and Aladdin Group theme song artist.

PETALING JAYA: Tech company Aladdin Group announced its return to the market as a digital commerce player, focusing on the halal and Muslim-friendly markets after a corporate restructure.

The halal and Muslim-friendly markets represent one of the largest growing consumer segments in the world, with a global consumption value of an estimated US$3 trillion annually.

A home-grown Malaysian company, Aladdin Group’s approach to the industry leverages on local Malaysian talents paired with one of the most established digital teams in China as a strategic partner, specialising in e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and the recent trend of social commerce.

“We’ve witnessed an industry shift throughout the past 10 years, where seven of the largest companies in the world by market cap today are tech companies, and out of those five of them are multi-sided platforms, “ said newly-appointed group chief executive officer Eizaz Azhar.

“The coronavirus crisis has also led to the rise of platforms where they have become an integral part of our everyday lives, further highlighting opportunities within the tech industry, ” he added.

“Aladdin Group plans to establish a supply chain solution to over 40 countries, serving a Muslim consumer segment of an estimated 1.45 billion people and creating a powerful trade network, through the establishment of 40 domestic and one global platforms, ” added Eizaz.“Our core focus is on the development of B2B, B2C, and O20 (online to offline) digital infrastructure for Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), so merchants can easily access new markets, and consumers have a wider selection of quality products and services, on a global scale via the Aladdin Group network.”

Aladdin Group’s restructure brings on board its new halal affairs director, Prof Irwandi Jaswir, recipient of the prestigious King Faisal Prize in 2018 for his outstanding services to Islam worldwide. The corporate exercise is backed with the appointment of an experienced board and advisors, comprising industry leaders within the global Islamic economy.

“At the end of the day, at Aladdin, our consumers come first. While our products and services are of great importance, our core product remains; serving you trust and integrity.

“With a capable and dynamic management team augmented by a unique value proposition, we believe that participants in our platform will be able to grow on a truly global level, ” said Eizaz.

At the Aladdin Group’s media launch and the onboarding of strategic partners event held at One World Hotel here, Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin said: “I am happy to see Aladdin Group’s return to the halal and Muslim-friendly market after their corporate restructuring exercise, and the establishment of their digital e-commerce and social commerce platforms.

“The Covid-19 global pandemic has changed the global business landscape in ways that we have never seen before, moving into what we now know as the ‘new normal’. In this context, digital technology plays a focal point towards facilitating the recovery against the Covid-19 pandemic around the world, and this has been especially true in Malaysia.”

“In doing so, we have seen dramatic shift for traditional business models, transforming the way trade and businesses is conducted. Almost every industry in the world has been disrupted by this rapid uptake of digitalisation, and the halal industry follows suit to this global trend, with e-commerce and online purchasing taking centre stage on a global scale.

He explained that the halal industry has a diverse value proposition and is not confined to only food segments; several emerging sectors support the growth of the halal and Muslim-friendly industry such as fashion, cosmetics, supplements and tourism.

“As Malaysia represents a world leader within the industry, it is imperative that Malaysian SMEs partake in this growth trend, leveraging on this valuable opportunity to reach beyond our borders into international markets, ” he pointed out.