CHINESE e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. is the latest company to consider buying U.K. electronics retailer Currys Plc, the Telegraph newspaper reported Sunday.

Currys said over the weekend that it rejected a preliminary offer from Elliott Advisors that it believed “significantly undervalued” the London-based firm.

Currys operates about 300 stores in the U.K. and employs more than 15,000 people.

JD.com has sought to claw back growth in the face of stiff competition from up-and-comers like PDD Holdings Inc.

In recent months, JD.com has nearly doubled salaries for some of its front-line staff to boost morale and shifted its focus on lower-tier cities.

Like many other Chinese tech giants, JD.com has also doubled down on efforts to expand internationally.

In a letter to employees earlier this month, JD.com said it needed to “prepare for the complex competitive environment,” in part by building up supply chain logistic capabilities in “major countries” in the next three years. (SD-Agencies)