Brief: Pinduoduo reports first-ever profitable quarter; commits $1.5bn to ag development

• Pinduoduo, the e-commerce company that claims to be “China’s largest agricultural platform,” reported its first-ever quarterly profit when it announced its Q2 2021 results this week.
• Total revenue for the quarter stood at ¥23 billion ($1.36 billion), up 89% on Q2 2020. Pinduoduo also recorded an operating profit of ¥2 billion ($309 million) for the three months ending June 30, compared to the operating loss of ¥1.64 billion ($225 million) it reported for the same period last year.
• The Shanghai-based company said that profits from Q2 and future quarters will be allocated to its new ’10 Billion Agriculture Initiative’ which will “address critical needs in the agricultural sector and rural areas.” Re-investment of profits into the Initiative will continue until a total commitment of ¥10 billion ($1.54 billion) is met.

Why it matters:

Pinduoduo — which works with farmers to sell their produce online across China — said the Initiative will “not be driven by profit or commercial goals, but [will] strive to facilitate the advancement of agritech, promote digital inclusion, and provide [workers] with greater motivation and a sense of achievement.”

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“Agriculture has long been at the core of Pinduoduo’s corporate mission and [the Initiative allows] us to deepen our support for agricultural modernization and rural vitalization,” chairman and CEO Lei Chen said in a statement. “Investing in agriculture pays off for everyone because agriculture is the nexus of food security and quality, public health, and environmental sustainability.”