Stock story: Sea Limited

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<p style="tab-stops: 81.0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Your capital is at risk.</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>At any given moment across Southeast Asia, merchants are propping up their phones and going live.<br>Millions of customers are scrolling through streams of online sellers, asking questions in real time and watching as their order is shipped for delivery. Shopping looks less like browsing a catalogue and more like entertainment.</p> <p>And the company hosting much of this activity is Sea Limited.</p> <p>Sea began life in 2009 as a gaming business. Its entertainment arm, Garena, became successful by building games for the phones people actually owned in the region: modest Android handsets, often on limited bandwidth.</p> <p>But Garena did more than just generate cash flows. It gave Sea an early understanding of how consumers across Southeast Asia were beginning to use the internet. And what the company saw was a region coming online rapidly, yet one that remained incredibly fragmented.</p> <p>Sea understood early that building successfully in the region required localisation almost by default. And Shopee was designed with that in mind. The platform feels distinctly different from most Western ecommerce businesses: mobile-first, interactive and highly social. Shopee reflected how consumers in Southeast Asia already used the internet rather than trying to reshape behaviour entirely.</p> <p>Over time, that has made it one of the leading ecommerce platforms in the region. And as more consumers and merchants moved onto the platform, Sea began expanding into financial services through SeaMoney.&nbsp;What began as a payments tool inside the ecosystem has evolved into digital wallets, consumer lending and merchant finance.</p> <p>For many users, these are some of the first genuinely accessible financial products they have encountered.<br>And for Sea, it opens another significant opportunity in a region where financial services are still out of reach for many.</p> <p>We first invested in Sea in 2017, shortly after it listed publicly. Since then, we have spent considerable time with founder Forrest Li and the wider leadership team, supporting the company through periods of rapid growth, heavy reinvestment and shifting profitability.&nbsp;</p> <p>For some companies, that volatility can be a warning sign. For others, it can be the cost of building something much larger.&nbsp;</p> <p>That is where patience matters. Our long-term investment horizon allows us the time to make that distinction.</p> <p>And after investing in Sea for almost a decade, we think the company has already demonstrated something quite distinct: an ability to evolve alongside the region it serves.<br>In a part of the world that is still early in its digital development, that may prove more important than many investors currently appreciate.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Risk factors</h3> <p>This communication was produced and approved in June 2026 and has not been updated subsequently. It represents views held at the time and may not reflect current thinking.</p> <p>The views expressed should not be considered as advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a particular investment. They reflect opinion and should not be taken as statements of fact nor should any reliance be placed on them when making investment decisions.</p> <p>This communication contains information on investments which does not constitute independent research. Accordingly, it is not subject to the protections afforded to independent research, but is classified as advertising under Art 68 of the Financial Services Act (‘FinSA’) and Baillie Gifford and its staff may have dealt in the investments concerned.</p> <p>All information is sourced from Baillie Gifford &amp; Co and is current unless otherwise stated.</p> <p>The images used in this communication are for illustrative purposes only.</p> <p><strong>Important Information&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>Baillie Gifford &amp; Co and Baillie Gifford &amp; Co Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Baillie Gifford &amp; Co Limited is an Authorised Corporate Director of OEICs.&nbsp;</p> <p>Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited provides investment management and advisory services to non-UK Professional/Institutional clients only. Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited is wholly owned by Baillie Gifford &amp; Co. Baillie Gifford &amp; Co and Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited are authorised and regulated by the FCA in the UK.</p> <p>Persons resident or domiciled outside the UK should consult with their professional advisers as to whether they require any governmental or other consents in order to enable them to invest, and with their tax advisers for advice relevant to their own particular circumstances.</p> <p><strong>Financial Intermediaries</strong></p> <p>This communication is suitable for use of financial intermediaries. Financial intermediaries are solely responsible for any further distribution and Baillie Gifford takes no responsibility for the reliance on this document by any other person who did not receive this document directly from Baillie Gifford.</p> <p><span class="source-text">10064084</span></p>