How Alibaba sailed past Amazon to rule fast-growing Southeast Asian market

The company has leaned heavily on M&A, supporting the strategy with an online financial services push and cloud technology

While Amazon has taken only baby steps into the fast-growing Southeast Asian market, Alibaba and its Ant Financial spin-off have marched in with all guns blazing.

Inevitably, Alibaba's biggest impact across Southeast Asia is in online shopping. While the region's main markets are just a fraction of China's $1.2 trillion online spending power -- Indonesia, for instance, is just $8.2 billion -- the company has growth potential in mind.

Alibaba has used a multi-pronged strategy in Southeast Asia, supporting a string of acquisitions, starting 2013, with a push into online financial services through its Ant Financial subsidiary.