SEA

Singapore’s Accelerating Asia launches $20M Fund II

The targeted $20 million fund already has around 50 percent in soft commitments from existing investors and partners.

Indonesia planning to relax foreign investment policies for local tech startups

Facebook, Bain & Co Report: Southeast Asia’s digital consumer population to reach 380M by 2026

Since the start of the pandemic, 70 million people have become digital consumers. Nearly half of them, or around 30 million people, became digital consumers from 2020 to 2021 alone. By 2026, Southeast Asia’s digital consumer population is expected to reach around 380 million.

Singapore’s Zipmex bags over $41M in Series B funding round

Bank of Ayudhya’s corporate venture capital arm, Krungsi Finnovate, has joined as an investor. Plan B Media Public Company Ltd and Master Ad Public Company Ltd have also announced their commitment to the company in the Series B fundraising.

Eric Cheng, CEO of Carsome Group

Malaysia’s Carsome raises $200M in financing round, valuation hits $1.3B

The Series D2 round saw participation from one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the region and a pool of new international investors such as Catcha Group and MediaTek as well as strong participation from existing shareholders including Asia Partners, Gobi Partners, 500 Southeast Asia, Ondine Capital, MUFG Innovation Partners, Daiwa PI Partners, and…

Singapore’s F&B startup Chope & Alipay forms strategic partnership

Through this strategic partnership, Alipay will provide Chope with its mini program Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and know-how, while Chope becomes Alipay's platform partner with the capability to integrate a variety of mini programs quickly and flexibly.

Alibaba’s Lazada rebrands logistics arm, introduces multi-channel logistics services

Along with the rebranding, Lazada Logistics is also introducing multi-channel logistics (MCL) services, which provide a single stock fulfillment solution to help e-commerce enablers and brands fulfill across all e-commerce channels seamlessly.

Malaysia-based SPAC Kairous Acquisition files for a $50 million IPO on NASDAQ

The SPAC intends to focus on fast-growing technology companies in e-commerce, financial technology, insurance technology, digital health, digital media, and digital services.

Malaysia’s AirAsia launches e-hailing services; eyes more acquisitions as it builds Super App

AirAsia's e-hailing venture came as the aviation group is in the midst of building its digital businesses and its ASEAN Super App when most of its planes were grounded due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Malaysia’s telecoms infrastructure firm Edotco accepted as United Nations Global Compact signatory

As a signatory, Edotco said it will be supporting the 10 Principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption, which will be embedded as part of the company’s strategy, culture, and day-to-day operations.

Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Political uncertainties in Malaysia seen as ‘short-term risks’, say tech investors

Venture capitalists TechNode Global contacted opined that political issues will have little impact on investors' confidence in Malaysian tech startups. The tech industry in the country will continue to grow due to the ongoing pandemic which has accelerated digitalization.