MercadoLibre is looking to double its electric delivery vehicle fleet in Latin America to more than 1,000 by the end of the year. In an interview with Emily Chang on Bloomberg TV, CFO Pedro Arnt said that the Buenos Aires-based e-commerce retailer and fintech giant is adding over 500 electric vans in the next few months.
“That’s just a portion of what we need to do for the long run,” Arnt said. “Part of the commitment around the bond was to transform about 10,000 of those EVs over the next three to five years. That’s what we’re working on.”
The new vehicles will go to Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, according to Bloomberg. The company will finance this influx of vehicles from a $400 million sustainable bond issued last year, as it plans to reduce the environmental impact of its logistics expansion.
For the past few years, the company has invested considerable resources to its logistics network, which has led the e-commerce firm to be the biggest in the region. This year, MercadoLibre has committed to investing $10 billion in Latin America — a record.
“We’re optimistic about the business and continuing to ride the revolution of consumers moving online for commerce and their digital finance,” Arnt added.
MercadoLibre is the ninth-largest holding in EMQQ Global’s Emerging Markets Internet & Ecommerce ETF (NYSE Arca: EMQQ) and the top holding in the Next Frontier Internet & Ecommerce ETF (FMQQ), which are designed to provide exposure to the internet and e-commerce sectors within the developing world.
By focusing on the internet and e-commerce in emerging markets, EMQQ looks to capture the growth and innovation happening in some of the largest and fastest-growing populations in the world. More than 60% of EMQQ’s assets are weighted toward China.
FMQQ, meanwhile, seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, generally correspond to the price and yield performance of the Next Frontier Internet and Ecommerce Index (FMQQetf.com). While it has the same investment philosophy as EMQQ, FMQQ has no China-based holdings. Securities must meet a minimum of a $300 million market cap and pass a liquidity screen that requires a $1 million average daily turnover.
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