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L’Oréal Malaysia to double down on social commerce in 2022 to help 250 salons affected by the pandemic

L'Oréal will be doubling down on social commerce with an aim to roll out its social commerce initiative to 250 salons across Malaysia in 2022. 

Indian B2B ecommerce marketplace Jumbotail raises $85M Series C round led by Invus

Jumbotail has raised an $85 million Series C round led by Artal Asia Pte. Ltd. Jumbotail will use the funds to triple its engineering, product, design, data science, category management, marketing, and finance teams. It will also scale its core B2B marketplace to 100 cities and towns across India, expand its network of J24 stores, invest in large scale…

Vietnam’s Society Pass announces inclusion in Russell 2000 Index

Society Pass Incorporated (SoPa), the Vietnam-based data-driven loyalty platform, announced Tuesday that the company has been added to the Russell 2000 Index, effective at the open of U.S. markets on December 20, 2021 and according to the preliminary list of initial public offering (IPO) additions to the Russell indexes.

Southeast Asia’s Top 10 tech news in 2021

It’s that time of the year again when we take a look back at what had happened during the year in the tech and startup scene.

Malaysian fintech firm CapBay secures $7.1M from Kenanga Investment Bank

CapBay, a Malaysian multi-bank supply chain finance and peer-to-peer financing (P2P) platform, has secured MYR30 million ($7.1 million) investment from Kenanga Capital Islamic Sdn Bhd (KCI), a subsidiary of Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (KIBB). The investment is a step forward to growing CapBay’s Shariah-compliant Supply Chain Finance arm, CapBay Islamic,…

Restaurant Brands International Inc. partners with Ant Group to accelerate digital transformation of its restaurant operations across Asia Pacific

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI) has announced a regional partnership to leverage Ant Group’s digital solutions to accelerate digital transformation of its restaurant operations across Asia Pacific. This deal further complements RBI’s continuous efforts to support local franchisee operations and expansion in the Asia Pacific market.

Softbank, Tencent-backed Indian used car platform Cars24 raises $400M

The investment will be used for the brand’s global expansion in the Middle East, Australia, and Southeast Asia, and to further strengthen its foothold in the Indian market.

Malaysia-based Iris Capital Partners launches $37.8M Venture Debt Fund

The Iris Fund, established under the Dana Penjana Nasional program, is co-managed by Hanwha Asset Management and Iris Capital Partners aims to support Malaysian and Southeast Asian startups.

Hong Kong music tech start-up Soundbrenner raises $1.5M funding from Choco Up

Hong Kong-headquartered music tech start-up Soundbrenner has raised $1.5 million funding from Singapore and Hong Kong-based financing and growth platform Choco Up, supporting endeavours including a new software product, global expansion, and entering the music education industry.

Indonesia’s GoTo said to appoint banks for $1B local IPO – report

GoTo Group has picked PT Mandiri Sekuritas and PT Indo Premier Sekuritas as underwriters for a local IPO that could happen as soon as next quarter, Bloomberg reported.