One of the 18 founders of Alibaba, veteran executive Lucy Peng will take over as Lazada's chief executive, replacing founder Max Bittner who will become a senior adviser to Alibaba.

Alibaba's stake will increase to an undisclosed size following the latest investment, a spokeswoman told Reuters. It held an 83 percent stake prior to the investment, which now doubles to $4bn from a $2bn infusion over the past two years.

"The investment underscores Alibaba's confidence in the future success of Lazada's business and the growth prospect of the Southeast Asian market, a region that is a key part of Alibaba's global growth strategy," Alibaba said in a statement.

Backed by large cash piles and soaring stock prices, Alibaba's new funding in loss-making Lazada underlines an ambitious global push to secure a bigger share of the fast-growing multi-billion dollar e-commerce market.

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