A person walks in front of a signage of Shopee, the e-commerce arm of Southeast Asia’s Sea Ltd, at their office in Singapore, March 5, 2021. REUTERS/Edgar Su
HONG KONG, Sept 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Sea (SE.N) is making a big splash in the capital markets. The Southeast Asian technology conglomerate plans to follow up December’s equity hike by selling another $6.3 billion in shares and convertible bonds.
With its stock price up 150% over the past year and investment and acquisitions surging read more in the region, it makes sense for Sea boss Forrest Li to take advantage of the situation and stock up. The $185 billion company already had $4.6 billion of cash and equivalents on its balance sheet as of June 30.
More international expansion may be on the agenda. Sea is establishing beachheads everywhere from India read more to Poland , and some early success could be emboldening it. Shopee was the most downloaded shopping app in Brazil in the second quarter, per App Annie. Sailing so far from home introduces far more risk, however, especially considering Sea spans food delivery to financial services. Any signs of overreach could start to give investors that sinking feeling. (By Sharon Lam)
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Editing by Jeffrey Goldfarb and Katrina Hamlin
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