Grab’s fundraising push continues unabated after the Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm announced that it has raised $200 million from Central Group, a retail conglomerate based in Thailand. Central’s business covers restaurants, hotels and more than 30 malls in Thailand, while it has operations in markets that include Vietnam and Indonesia. Its public-listed holding companies alone are worth more […]
View More Grab raises $200M from Thailand-based retail conglomerate Central GroupCategory: Vietnam
Go-Jek makes first close of $2 billion round at $9.5 billion valuation
Southeast Asia-based ride-sharing firm Go-Jek is making progress with its plan to raise up to $2 billion in fresh capital to fund its battle with close rival Grab . Indonesia-headquartered Go-Jek has closed an initial chunk of that round after a collection of existing investors, including Google, Tencent and JD.com, agreed to invest around $920 million […]
View More Go-Jek makes first close of $2 billion round at $9.5 billion valuationVCs give us their predictions for startups and tech in Southeast Asia in 2019
The new year is well underway and, before January is out, we polled VCs in Southeast Asia to get their thoughts on what to expect in 2019. The number of VCs in the region has increased massively in recent years, in no small part due to forecasts of growth in the tech space as internet […]
View More VCs give us their predictions for startups and tech in Southeast Asia in 2019Go-Jek buys fintech startup Coins.ph for $72M ahead of Philippines expansion
Ride-hailing startup Go-Jek’s expansion into the Philippines ran into problems earlier this month over its ownership structure, but that isn’t deterring the Indonesian company from investing into the market. Today, Go-Jek announced that it has acquired local fintech company Coins.ph through “substantial investment” which gives it a majority stake in the business. The deal is officially […]
View More Go-Jek buys fintech startup Coins.ph for $72M ahead of Philippines expansionMomo, Vietnam’s top payment app, lands big Series C investment led by Warburg Pincus
Fintech in Southeast Asia continues to pique the attention of global investors. Alibaba, Tencent and others have jumped into the region and deployed hundreds of millions of dollars, and now Warburg Pincus is joining them. The U.S-headquartered PE firm has led a Series C investment in Vietnam’s Momo, which claims to be the company’s largest mobile […]
View More Momo, Vietnam’s top payment app, lands big Series C investment led by Warburg PincusDecrypted Telegram bot chatter revealed as new Windows malware
Sometimes it take a small bug in one thing to find something massive elsewhere. During an investigation recent, security firm Forcepoint Labs said it found a new kind of malware that was found taking instructions from a hacker sending commands over the encrypted messaging app Telegram . The researchers described their newly discovered malware, dubbed […]
View More Decrypted Telegram bot chatter revealed as new Windows malwareGrab moves to offer digital insurance services in Southeast Asia
Grab is Southeast Asia’s top ride-hailing firm, thanks in no small part to its acquisition of Uber’s local business last year, but the company also houses an ambitious fintech arm, too. That just added another vertical to its business after Grab announced it is teaming up with China’s ZhongAn to introduce insurance. Grab and ZhongAn International, […]
View More Grab moves to offer digital insurance services in Southeast AsiaVietnam threatens to penalize Facebook for breaking its draconian cybersecurity law
Well, that didn’t take long. We’re less than ten days into 2019 and already Vietnam is aiming threats at Facebook after it violating its draconian cybersecurity law which came into force on January 1. The U.S. social network stands accused of allowing users in Vietnam to post “slanderous content, anti-government sentiment and libel and defamation […]
View More Vietnam threatens to penalize Facebook for breaking its draconian cybersecurity lawGo-Jek’s Southeast Asia expansion runs into a roadblock in the Philippines
Southeast Asian ride-hailing challenger Go-Jek has expanded into three new markets as it bids to expand beyond its native Indonesia, but it is having major issues getting into a fourth. The company — which rivals Grab, is valued at over $6 billion and is backed by the likes of Google and Tencent — this week […]
View More Go-Jek’s Southeast Asia expansion runs into a roadblock in the PhilippinesGrab raises fundraising target to $5B as Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing war heats up
Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab is aiming to start the new year with a bang and an awful load of bucks. The company, which acquired Uber’s local business earlier this year, is planning to raise as much as $5 billion from its ongoing Series H round, up from an original target of $3 billion, a source with […]
View More Grab raises fundraising target to $5B as Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing war heats upFacebook is not equipped to stop the spread of authoritarianism
Facebook isn’t responsible for government decisions to clamp down on free expression. But the question remains: How can companies stop assisting authoritarian governments, inadvertently or otherwise?
View More Facebook is not equipped to stop the spread of authoritarianismTNB Aura closes $22.7M fund to bring PE-style investing to Southeast Asia’s startups
TNB Aura, a recent arrival to Southeast Asia’s VC scene, announced today that it has closed a maiden fund at SG$31.1million, or around US$22.65 million, to bring a more private equity-like approach to investing in startups in the region. The fund was launched in 2016 and it is a joint effort between Australia-based venture fund Aura […]
View More TNB Aura closes $22.7M fund to bring PE-style investing to Southeast Asia’s startups