Unveils 10 Billion Agriculture Initiative to address critical needs in the agricultural sector and rural areas
Pinduoduo, China’s largest agricultural platform, posted 89 per cent gain in second-quarter revenue as more consumers shopped through the platform. Revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2021, rose to 23.0 billion yuan ($3.6 billion), the company said in a filing. The number of users who placed orders through Pinduoduo in the trailing 12-month period rose to 849.9 million.
Pinduoduo at the same time announced that it would launch a dedicated ’10 Billion Agriculture Initiative’ to face and address critical needs in the agricultural sector and rural areas.
Profits from the second quarter and any potential profits in future quarters would be allocated to the Initiative. The Initiative would not be driven by profit or commercial goals, but strive to facilitate the advancement of agritech, promote digital inclusion, and provide agritech talents and workers with greater motivation and a sense of achievement.
Although the ’10 Billion Agriculture Initiative’ will clearly impact the short-term earnings per share for shareholders, the Initiative has already received the support and approval of the Board of Directors, and will be personally overseen by Chairman and CEO Chen Lei. The company will subsequently convene a shareholders’ meeting to seek the support of majority shareholders.
“We believe that investing in agriculture will reap outsized social benefits because agriculture is the nexus of food security and quality, public health and environmental sustainability,” said Chen Lei.
