Mandiri Capital Indonesia to launch 2 venture funds, step up investments; While Mandiri Venture Fund is slated to have a total corpus of ~US$50M, the fund size of Indonesia Impact Fund will be US$25M; So far, Mandiri Capital has built a portfolio of 14 fintech firms such as Mekari, Cashlez, KoinWorks, Amartha. More here
Goldbell acquires BlueSG, to invest US$52.3M in the e-car sharing firm over the next 5 years; Goldbell will expand BlueSG’s current fleet of 650+ vehicles, establish an R&D centre and develop new mobility algorithms, analytics and technologies; BlueSG claims it has processed over 1.7M rentals with 100K subscriptions sold since starting in 2017. More here
COVID-19-battered Traveloka may still be the best-poised Indonesian unicorn for IPO fight; The firm is just a click away from becoming profitable, said long-time backer Wilson Cuaca; It has been making groundwork for IPO since as early as 2017. More here
Thailand’s IPO Market is a success story in SEA this year; In 2020, the fundraising scene accumulated US$3.94B and had 23 impressive IPOs to report, even amid COVID-19 based economy stagnation; The 23 IPOs have raised more than half of the total stock market launches revenues in the region, while all the other SEA countries and their 77 IPOs made up the rest. More here
How the coup d’état would play out for Myanmar’s startup ecosystem; The effect of decreased foreign investment would have a greater impact on startups than traditional corporations given the increased reliance on capital faced by these early-stage companies. More here
CXA Group sells brokerage arm to Pacific Prime to focus on SaaS business; Following the deal, CXA will direct its resources to support banks, insurers, and payroll companies to leverage its benefits, health, and wellness platform and to enhance its financial and digital service offerings; Furthermore, CXA will expand into new markets across Asia and Europe. More here
PasarPolis raises US$5M from IFC; The two firms will jointly continue and strengthen PasarPolis’s mission to democratise insurance more broadly, one of which is through the development of micro-insurance products that are affordable and in accordance with the needs of the society. More here
Vietnamese hotel booking platform Go2Joy banks US$2.3M Series A+ led by HB Investments; The firm will start to explore the opportunities to expand service to other markets such as Thailand and Philippines; Go2Joy allows customers to book hotels by the hour or overnight and pay through e-wallet Payoo, Momo, Onepay. More here
MDEC seeks to encourage SMEs’ digitalisation with US$1.5M grant; The 66 local recipients hailed from a wide range of sectors including wholesale and retail trade, tourism, and education among others; The initiative is key to MDEC’s mission to assist SMEs and mid-tier companies to digitalise and thrive in the fourth industrial revolution, where digital processes are set to be the norm. More here
Betatron Venture Group, PTI join hands to invest in proptech startups in Asia; While the partnership can invest as little as US$250K per company, it typically prefers to invest between US$500K and US$2M; Betatron is a team of eight professionals led by two partners and includes a wider network of five prominent VC funds with a combined US$800M in AuM and more than 200 investments across Asia. More here
Is big tech now just too big to stomach?; The relentless rise of the big six tech firms – Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google owner Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft – powered US markets last year; Their eye-catching performance has prompted increased political scrutiny and the threat of heightened regulation from Washington. More here
Remote working jobs on the rise in SEA: report; A new report from LinkedIn said the year 2020 saw a rise in demand for digital and soft skills as employers shifted from hiring based on credentials to hiring based on skills held. More here
Vietnam digital ecosystem and transformation well on track; Tech firms have shown their increasing influence on the country’s social and economic life; PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc says the Vietnamese business community and digital tech have been vital in ensuring the wellbeing of the nation both for the economy as well as for citizens to live a productive, safe and sustainable life. More here
Applying AI to global cross-border e-commerce and digital marketing; AI is one of the most critical technologies to help marketers keep pace with international consumer behaviour; Global marketers are managing a lot of data about multicultural buyers, including language, traditions, seasons, device preferences, time zones and more. More here
What Google Singapore learned about e-commerce during the pandemic; Online retail has emerged as the preferred way to access goods and services all around the world during the pandemic; This newfound online habit driven by the pandemic has propelled the e-commerce GMV in Singapore to US$4B in 2020. More here
Fintech outperforms banks in Indonesia; Fintech payment services in Indonesia are the largest in SEA where e-wallets from fintech contribute around 72% of e-money transactions in the country; This preference has driven a wide range of online transactions including e-commerce, education and entertainment. More here
TranSwap expands into UK with plans to open new R&D centre; It is the cross-border payment platform’s fifth market after Singapore, HK, Indonesia and Malaysia; The UK is a pivotal market to accelerate TranSwap’s next phase of expansion. More here
Singapore’s IMM launches virtual mall on Shopee; The virtual mall aims to accelerate the digitalisation of IMM’s retailers and help them increase their online presence; With the virtual mall, retailers at the Jurong East mall who do not have an online presence will now be able to market their goods online. More here
Here are the 6 deeptech startups unveiled at Entrepreneur First Singapore’s 8th cohort; EF is a talent invstor that backs individuals instead of fully-formed startups; It claims to have helped over 2K individuals in its programme, who have gone on to build more than 200 companies with a total valuation exceeding US$1B. More here
An unlikely duo: Will banks and fintech have a happy marriage?; With the entry of fintech firms into the market, retail banks are faced with a new and direct competition; Both function as a financing option for businesses; However, there is also a seemingly ideal allyship in this scenario. More here
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Photo by Geoff Greenwoodon Unsplash
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