Tesla
How risky is it to buy a Tesla using bitcoin?; Ordinarily, new car prices change over rather long periods of time, such as weeks or months; However, bitcoin’s rapid value gyrations could make it difficult to set a crypto price and stick with it for any set amount of time. More here
Traveloka picks JPMorgan for US listing via SPAC; Traveloka has considered several SPACs, including Provident Acquisition Corp., Cova Acquisition Corp., and Bridgetown Holdings, for the public listing; The company was valued at US$3B in 2017 and is reportedly eyeing a valuation between US$5B and US$6B. More here
Indonesia’s Gayo Capital eyes final close of US$10M hybrid fund in H1 2021; An investment vehicle under the local VC firm Ideosource, Gayo provides a mix of equity investment and venture debt financing to tech and non-tech companies. More here
Indonesia receives investment proposal from Tesla: official; Indonesia is the world’s biggest nickel producer, a material crucial for EV batteries, and has been publicly wooing Tesla to invest in the country to help develop its ambitious EV and battery industry plans. More here
Catcha Group’s SPAC announces pricing of US$275M IPO for NYSE listing; Catcha said the final size offering may hit above US$300M, if an over-allotment option allowing the purchase of up to an extra 4,125,000 units is exercised; It added that the offer was more than 10x oversubscribed, generating a demand of over US$2.5 billion. More here
Eurazeo’s US$97M smart city fund II to back energy, mobility, proptech startups worldwide including in Asia; The Smart City II Venture fund, whose backers also include Thai real estate giant Sansiri, will seeks to invest up to 40% in Asia. More here
No roaming cattle but with high-tech labs, could Singapore be a ‘meat’ exporter?; Currently, the local alternative protein scene is dominated by the likes of Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat; But homegrown talents are taking advantage of the growing popularity of these meat substitutes, launching their own companies to create their version of no-kill poultry and seafood. More here
Why Asia’s US$90T real estate market is a huge opportunity for tech sector; Asian residential property has weathered the pandemic with surprising resilience;This reflects change in homeowner preferences which has created new demand. More here
Asia has the highest share of frustrated consumers. Here’s how brands can enhance customer communication; Businesses that largely communicated through emails and texts are now enabling their customers to reach out through video and social channels like WhatsApp for instant, convenient communications. More here
Collaborative robots (cobots) set to benefit businesses in Asia; The APAC cobot market is projected to become the largest cobot market worldwide, growing at a CAGR of 45.46%, with an addressable cumulative market value of US$13.17B over the next 7 years in terms of cobot hardware. More here
Study: People trust robots more than themselves with money; The global pandemic has damaged people’s relationship with money at home and at work, according to the research; 87% of consumers are experiencing financial fears, including job loss (39%), losing savings (38%), and never getting out of debt (26%). More here
Mastercard aims to partner with Vietnam’s e-wallets using fintech; Mastercard is starting from a very small base in Vietnam because only 56% of Vietnamese have a debit or credit card, by far the lowest in the region’s six big economies, according to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study released in 2020. More here
Grab Malaysia aims to create equal access to income via digital economy; MD Sean Goh said as a homegrown technology enabler and proponent of the digital economy, the initiative is aimed at creating new income opportunities with public and private partners coming together to improve livelihoods amid the pandemic. More here
Why this JD.com exec still believes in physical retail; Kevin Jiang, JD.com’s president of International Business for Fashion and Lifestyle, said that while e-commerce is growing, the future of retail depends on the integration of both online and offline experiences, as well as knowing the customer’s journey with the brand — a harmonised retail experience. More here
IMDA, Singtel, Singapore academia partner to grow talent in 5G and emerging technologies; Through structured training and courses, coupled with real work experience in the Singtel workplace, employees can develop and hone 5G domain expertise and related skills that will enable them to deliver innovative products and services to meet the needs of consumers and enterprises. More here
Modern trade channels, e-commerce to further thrive in Vietnam: experts; The pandemic has boosted online shopping and more consumers would choose to shop online even after the pandemic ends; E-commerce, supported by e-payment, has grown especially strongly in recent years, averaging over 27% growth. More here
Pakistan’s Safepay raises 7-figure USD seed funding from Stripe, others; Its existing backers include GFC, HOF Capital, Soma Capital, Mantis Capital and Fatima Gobi Ventures; The YC startup’s vision is to accelerate the adoption of digital payments in the country by targeting a wave of entrepreneurs fuelled by e-commerce. More here
Viber ties up with Globe myBusiness, GCash to provide QR codes to MSMEs; Viber’s latest partnership with GCash comes after the messaging app announced last year that it was planning to turn it into an all-in-one app, moving towards fintech by making in-app payments available to everyone. More here
Asian proptech sector no longer a laggard; A report shows that 70% of real estate companies are now scaling up their proptech investments in response to COVID-19-driven demands; Big data (55%), AI (42%), business process automation (32%), and IoT (32%) were top areas of investment over the next five years. More here
PayMaya expands e-commerce ambitions with launch of own virtual mall; The PLDT-backed fintech firm updated its app with a new “mall” button, which allows users to buy goods online from some of the biggest restaurant, clothing, grocery, and home improvement brands; The virtual mall is meant to expose the company’s merchant-partners to the app’s 28M users. More here
Dell Technologies launches tech skill accelerator in Singapore; It seeks to upskill 3,000 mid-career professionals, fresh graduates, students in Singapore; The programme will give them practical knowledge and skills in cloud computing, data protection and management, data science, and big data analytics. More here
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