Sea broadens growth strategy with cloud venture, fintech listing review

Singapore-based Sea (SE) is entering the cloud computing market and considering a public listing of its financial services business, as the Shopee parent seeks new growth opportunities amid intensifying competition and a declining share price.

Chief Executive Officer Forrest Li outlined plans for a new division, Sea Cloud, in an internal memo to employees, saying the company aims to provide cloud services to businesses globally, according to Bloomberg.

The move would place Sea (SE) in direct competition with established providers such as Amazon Web Services and Alibaba Group’s cloud business. The company is also evaluating a potential spin-off and stock market listing of its fintech unit, Monee, Li said.

A separate listing could provide Monee with additional capital and greater independence to accelerate its expansion, according to the memo.

Sea (SE) faces mounting pressure in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market from rivals including TikTok Shop (TIKTOK), Alibaba’s Lazada (BABA), Shein (SHEIN), and Temu. The region has a population of about 675 million, with online shopping continuing to expand. Sea (SE) is also pursuing growth in Brazil.

Its shares have fallen about 31% so far this year amid competitive pressures.

Li said Sea (SE) had spent two years rebuilding its internal cloud infrastructure to support artificial intelligence applications, which it now plans to offer to other businesses. The company has also incorporated AI into its operations and partnered with OpenAI (OPENAI) on e-commerce applications.