SEOUL, South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. said Wednesday it swung to a net loss in the first quarter amid growing challenges from Chinese rivals. Coupang shifted to a net loss of 31.8 billion won (US$24 million) in the three months ended in March from a net profit of 116 billion won in the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. The company inked a quarterly net loss for the first time in seven quarters after reporting a loss of 95.2 billion won in the second quarter of 2022. Operating profit plunged 61 percent to 53.1 billion won in the first quarter from 136.2 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 28 percent to 9.45 trillion won from 7.39 trillion won during the same period. Starting April 13, Coupang raised its monthly WOW membership fee for paid users by 58 percent to 7,890 won from 4,990 won to secure further capital to cement its leading status in the competitive local delivery market. Coupang's new services, such as streaming platform Coupang Play and food delivery service Coupang Eats, have helped the company boost users in South Korea. But it faces tougher challenges from Chinese e-commerce retail platforms -- PDD Holdings' Temu and Alibaba Group's AliExpress -- which are wooing customers away from Coupang through aggressive marketing. Coupang plans to invest 3 trillion won for the next three years to expand its renowned "rocket delivery" nationwide to cement its leading status in the competitive local delivery market.