Razorpay launches payment gateway in Malaysia via Curlec

Photo credit: Curlec

India-based
Razorpay
 announced that Curlec – the Malaysian startup it had acquired in 2022 – has transitioned to a full stack payment gateway for businesses.

Now Curlec by Razorpay, the service allows businesses to accept payments and automate payouts. It also marks the first international launch of a payment gateway for Razorpay, which serves 10 million businesses in India.

Previously, Curlec was focused on its recurring payments solutions.

Curlec by Razorpay already has more than 700 clients in Malaysia, according to a statement. They include Tune Protect, CTOS, Courts, Mary Kay, and The National Kidney Foundation.

The fintech firm aims to reach over 5,000 businesses and hit 10 billion ringgit in annualized gross transaction value by 2025. It is also looking to generate growth off the back of Malaysia’s digital economy, which is expected to be worth
US$35 billion by 2025
.

Curlec by Razorpay will benefit from the high usage of mobile phones and the real-time payments system (DuitNow) in the country as well as government support for the digital economy.

Razorpay bought a majority stake in Curlec in February 2022 and plans to fully acquire it within a year and a half. It also made two deals in India last year: acquiring
IZealiant Technologies
 and snapping up an
over 80% stake
 in Ezetap.

See also: Is
 fintech overrated? DBS, OCBC, UOB see record profit, seek reinvention amid uncertainty


Founders of Jirnexu step down from executive roles

Jirnexu co-founder Hann Liew / Photo credit: Ernst & Young

Hann Liew
 and
Lucas Oo
i, co-founders of Malaysia-based fintech firm
Jirnexu
, are leaving their executive roles at the company, Liew announced in a
LinkedIn post
.

Previously, Liew was an executive director and Ooi was corporate development director. Other founders include
Yuen Tuck Siew
, who will continue to serve as the CEO. Both Liew and Ooi plan to remain as shareholders and board members.

Founded in 2012, Jirnexu was formerly known as Saving Plus. It provides online tools and advice to its users and helps banks and insurance companies streamline their application processes. Later, it
claimed
 to be the first full-stack fintech company in Southeast Asia.

The firm launched financial comparison websites RinggitPlus in Malaysia and KreditGoGo in Indonesia in 2013 and 2014, respectively. These businesses then merged with SaveMoney.my, an online portal for information on financial products.

Liew and Ooi, who co-founded SaveMoney.my, joined RinggitPlus as CEO and director of insurance, respectively. In 2016, Saving Plus
rebranded
 to Jirnexu, while raising US$3 million in series A funding.

Jirnexu is currently “profitable” with an annual recurring revenue of over 50 million ringgit (US$10.7 million), Liew said. The company has 1.5 million customers.

Other members of the executive team include co-founder and chief operating officer
James Barnes
, chief commercial officer
Jack Low
, and CFO
Khoon Eong Lim
.

To date, Jirnexu has secured at least US$37 million in funding, including the latest
US$10 million
 series B investment from consumer credit firm Experian, according to
Crunchbase
‘s data.

See also:
Pleasant surprise in Malaysia’s digibank race

Currency converted from Malaysian ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.67 ringgit.


Ant Group expands Alipay+ to all 7-Eleven stores in Malaysia

Photo credit: Ant Group

Ant Group
 has expanded its coverage in Malaysia, enabling all 7-Eleven stores in the country to accept
Alipay+
 and other mobile wallets in its ecosystem.

The integration, which was facilitated by Razer Merchant Services, allows the 2,400 7-Eleven stores in Malaysia to accept AlipayHK, GCash, Kakao Pay, and TrueMoney as payment options.

This development brings the total number of merchant touchpoints accepting Alipay+ in Malaysia to over 80,000.

“With growing coverage of Alipay+ in Malaysia, we’re connecting more Asian travelers to local merchants, helping to position Malaysia as a travel destination of choice and unlocking new opportunities for local businesses,” said
Cherry Huang
, general manager of Alipay+ Offline Merchant Services at Ant Group.

Alipay+ was introduced by Ant Group in 2020 to help businesses expand their supported payment methods to reach more consumers. Apart from Malaysia, Alipay+’s mobile wallets are also accepted as payment options in markets such as mainland China, Macao, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea.

See also:
From China with love: Digital banks ANEXT and GLDB aim to fill SME lending void in SG


A Malaysian insect-protein firm is raising seed money with this deck

Imago Engineering
 is a Malaysian company specializing in the construction of fully automated plants that produce protein, fat, and fertilizers from insects.

The startup’s plants take manure from farms to grow the insects that will make the protein, which can be an alternative to fishmeal in aquaculture feed. This protein is also used in the production of poultry, pork, as well as pet food.

Founded in June last year by
Leonid Nikishov
 and
Viacheslav Kaptenko
, the company is using this deck to raise its seed round.

Fundraising Journey

2022: US$500,000 in an undisclosed round

We’re building the largest collection of fundraising pitch decks in Asia and the world. Check them out
here.


Alt-protein firm Green Rebel readies to serve the Philippines, Vietnam

Green Rebel Foods co-founders Max Mandias (left) and Helga Angelina Tjahjadi / Photo credit: Green Rebel

Indonesia-based alt-protein firm
Green Rebel
 will be expanding to the Philippines and Vietnam in August this year and has “other markets in the pipeline.”

The startup says it chose the two countries, as meat consumption in those markets has been relatively higher than in the rest of the region and because people are willing to shift to plant-based meats if the quality is on par and is affordable.

“It’s within our mid-term goals to achieve price parity to animal-based meat in most markets we operate in,” co-founder
Helga Angelina Tjahjadi
 tells
Tech in Asia.

Founded in 2020 by Tjahjadi and
Max Mandias
, Green Rebel offers plant-based proteins, with dishes such as Beefless Rendang, Beefless Satay, Chick’n Karaage, and Beefless Steak.

According to the firm, its meatless beef has 91% less global warming potential than local beef, while that number stands at 84% for its chicken offering.

Green Rebel’s expansion efforts come after it
launched in Singapore
 – its first market outside Indonesia – in March 2022, followed by Malaysia in December 2022 and South Korea in April this year.

As part of its growth strategy, the company has forged partnerships specific to each market, joining hands with firms such as Nando’s in Singapore, Starbucks in Malaysia, and Food Does Matter in South Korea.

The founders – who also established Indonesia’s biggest vegan food chain
Burgreens
 – find that localizing their offerings in some markets is one of the greatest challenges from a manufacturing perspective.

See also:
Recession Run: Alt protein to be $200b industry this decade, says Good Startup

The firm raised US$10 million in an oversubscribed pre-series A funding round last year, with investors such as Better Bite Ventures, Teja Ventures, and Unovis participating.

By the end of this year, Green Rebel looks to raise US$8 million to US$10 million in its series A funding round for its global expansion initiatives as well as to “[pave its] path to profitability.” In the second half of the year, it will also launch new products tapping into Chinese and Filipino flavors.

“We’re looking to launch in the US and Europe in one to two years. The first country in Europe will of course be the Netherlands, given the strong connection and affinity between Indonesia and Southeast food as well as Germany,” Tjahjadi says.


Carro backs Malaysian automobile content firm Driven Communications

The Carro team / Photo credit: Carro

Singapore-based
Carro
, an online used-car platform, has announced a strategic investment in
Driven Communications
, a Malaysian digital content firm that owns several automotive websites.

The deal value was not revealed, but it is expected to be finalized within two months. Carro said that the deal will not hamper editorial freedom of Driven Communications, which will remain under the leadership of co-CEOs
Paul Tan
 and
Harvinder Singh
.

The digital content firm handles
Paultan.org
, an automotive review and news website that sees up to 6 million monthly active visits. It also houses
CarBase.my
, a buyer’s guide platform, and
Oto.my
, a used-car classifieds site.

“Our investment and support gives Driven Communications room to achieve immediate positive net income, putting them on a stable financial standalone footing with strong earnings growth potential,” said
Ernest Chew
, CFO of Carro, in a statement.

Carro, which operates Malaysian platform myTukar, said it had been working with Driven Communications for around two years before the deal.

Aaron Kee, the chief of staff at Carsome, recently alleged that Paultan.org was
hiding its affiliation
 with Carro in a response to a tweet saying Tan was part of a “coordinated attack” against the Carro competitor.

Kee went on to highlight that Paultan.org was “plastered with myTukar’s ads.” “To be clear, media sponsorship is not wrong, but I’m pointing out the probable affiliations. We have affiliations with Carlist and Wapcar as well, but we do not attempt to hide it,” he added.

Tan and Carro CEO Aaron Tan
denied
 the allegations while a Carsome representative told
Tech in Asia
 the company won’t be commenting on the matter.

Without going into specifics, Carro added in its announcement of the deal that its investment into Driven Communications comes after recent acquisitions of sites covering the automotive industry have resulted in some dealers and platforms being blocked.

Carro recently announced a
US$60 million strategic partnership
 with investment firm Jardine Cycle & Carriage (JC&C). In a previous interview with
Tech in Asia
, CEO and founder
Aaron Tan
 said the company will leverage JC&C’s network to get access to “good quality inventory which we otherwise could not have access to.”

See also:
Carro sees “record” EBITDA as its fintech and other verticals get spotlight


Carsome boosts liquidity to $200m with latest raise

Photo credit: Carsome

Carsome
, a Malaysia-based used car marketplace, has closed its latest fundraising round, bringing its liquidity position to around US$200 million. The amount raised was not disclosed.

The funding round attracted existing backers such as 65 Equity Partners, Seatown Private Capital Master Fund, Qatar Investment Authority, Gobi Partners, and Asia Partners.

EvolutionX Debt Capital, a growth-stage debt financing platform by DBS and Temasek, also joined the round as a new investor.

In a letter previously seen by
 Tech in Asia
, Carsome was eyeing “an internal bridging round and an external mid-year fundraise” totaling a potential US$55 million for 2023 – ahead of its planned IPO.

Qatar Investment Authority, 65 Equity Partners, and Seatown Holdings were slated to lead a US$45 million raise, while the remaining US$10 million was expected to come from “other existing Malaysian institutional investors.”

Tech in Asia
 previously reported that the company was
seeking help
 from Malaysian Deputy Finance Minister Steven Sim with the fundraising plans, which Carsome then
refuted
.

Carsome said its revenue for 2022 grew 250% to US$1.5 billion on the back of strong demand for car sales. Its new retail line, Carsome Certified, pitched in roughly 35% of the total revenue last year. The company also hit operational profitability in the first quarter of 2023.

See also:
Carsome petitions Malaysian minister in bid to raise $55m before IPO


Love Bonito sees 41% revenue growth in 2021 (update)

Photo credit: Love Bonito

Singapore-based ecommerce firm
Love Bonito
 recorded S$44 million (US$32.8 million) in revenue across its markets in 2021, marking a 41% year-on-year growth, according to financial statements obtained from VentureCap Insights.

The company’s most popular market was Singapore, contributing US$20.8 million, which is a 34% bump from the previous year. Malaysia and Indonesia were the runners-up.

In 2021, the firm’s revenue from the rest of the world – minus the three markets – rose by nearly 80% to US$4.7 million.

Without giving any specific numbers for FY2022, Love Bonito CFO
Will Vaya
 told
Tech in Asia
 that the company’s business mix has been trending toward international markets, which now contribute over 50% of its ecommerce operations. “We are seeing high double-digit growth in all our markets, new and old,” he commented.

The company ships to 18 countries, with other key markets including Hong Kong and Cambodia.

Its net loss for the year was US$8.2 million, widening by over 2x compared to 2020, which Vaya attributed to the company’s market expansion efforts in 2021.

“We invested upfront in hiring for international expansion, where we have been successful in entering new markets including Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the US,” he explained.

In 2021, its cash and cash equivalents grew over 3x to US$43.3 million, due in large part to the
US$50 million it raised in its series C funding round
 that year.

The direct-to-consumer brand, founded in 2010 by
Rachel Lim
 and
Viola Tan
, sells its women’s fashion products through both online and offline channels.

The firm acquired
 activewear brand Butter in October 2022, a month after it purchased a stake in healthtech company Moom.

This year, Love Bonito recently opened a pop-up store in New York City, and is looking to eventually
go public in the country
. It is also continuing to open stores across all key markets in Asia, Vaya added.

See also:
Can Love Bonito triumph over a D2C model under threat?

Update (June 15, 5:00 p.m. SGT): This article was updated to clarify that overall revenue grew 41% and to include comments from the company.

Currency converted from Singapore dollars to US dollars: US$1 = S$1.34


Carsome’s controversial letter to Malaysian minister unpacked

Photo credit: Carsome

Dan Lain-Lain
 (Malay for “and others”) is a weekly column by TIA journalist Emmanuel Samarathisa that dissects the goings-on in the Malaysia tech scene but with a heavy mix of current affairs, policy and politics. Click
here
 to read past articles.

Last Friday, we
ran a scoop
 that used-car platform Carsome petitioned Malaysian Deputy Finance Minister Steven Sim to be recommended as an investment for government-linked investment companies (GLICs) and government-linked companies (GLCs).

After hitting publish, it was fire. I received requests for the headline to be changed, among others. After mulling over them, we stuck with the headline because we felt it captured the letter well.

A mini storm also brewed on social media, especially Twitter, where I usually hang out.

So I wagered it’s time for a follow-up to unpack some of the points in the article and to talk about an interesting development that has happened since.

Did Carsome have to write to the minister?

In a response to our story, Carsome denied soliciting or petitioning the Finance Ministry for funding.

It said the March 27 letter was in “response to an engagement session” with the ministry “to encourage and welcome the participation of Malaysian institutional investors in the company’s growth journey.”

But the fact is that Carsome
did
 write a letter to the minister and it
did
 implore him to recommend the company as an investment to the country’s state-owned institutions and firms.

I wanted Minister Sim’s take on this so I reached out to his team for comment. Sim acknowledged receiving the letter, which was sent to his office in April, and said he passed it to the relevant departments within the Finance Ministry for “review and any further action deemed necessary.”

Deputy Finance Minister Steven Sim (white shirt) visiting Carsome’s regional headquarters in Petaling Jaya in February. / Photo credit: Carsome

He added that it’s not within the purview of the deputy minister’s office to recommend or make any decisions on investments by the ministry or its agencies. Sim went on to cite existing structures in place within the ministry and relevant agencies to review proposals “and make decisions based on merits, in a fair and independent manner.”

Here’s another thing: you don’t need to write to the minister to ask GLICs and GLCs to consider your company as an investment. These entities have their respective investment committees and their own frameworks for pouring funds into startups.

In other words, Carsome didn’t need to take the matter to the minister as it could’ve reached out directly to the GLICs and GLCs. Sure, it’s the company’s right to write to the minister – but this isn’t the only way to get investor support.

It’s also worth pointing out that while Carsome said in its letter that Malaysian institutions make up less than 10% of its cap table, Khazanah is one of its
shareholders
. That the sovereign wealth fund, which has insider knowledge on the used-car platform, has yet to cough out more cash for the bridging round is one thing, but Carsome asking the deputy finance minister to recommend it as an investment to an existing shareholder is another.

Along the way, Carsome chief of staff Aaron Kee tweeted that there were misconceptions about the letter being a bailout. He didn’t tag us or refer to our story but, for what it’s worth, we never mentioned a bailout.

We’ll return to Mr. Kee in a bit, but pointing back to our article, the petition was in the context of raising an extra US$10 million from Malaysian institutions for the purpose of an IPO.

Why are we all getting excited or jumpy (in Carsome’s case) over a support letter? No matter the intention, these things are usually frowned upon. It sends a
negative signal
 that one needs a backdoor to get something.

To be sure, situations like this are common and not solely unique to Carsome. But we’re talking about Carsome because the letter was leaked. The fact that the company had to write to a minister certainly warrants attention.

Will taxpayer money be used?

The usual criticism of asking for state support is that taxpayer money will be used. But that depends on which entities will step in to take up Carsome’s request.

If we are talking about the entities named in the letter, then they do not depend on public allocations. In fact, it’s the reverse: GLICs and GLCs are expected to contribute to “national interests” by way of investments and dividends.

Khazanah and Petronas, for example, pony up dividends to the government annually. In fact, in this year’s budget, these entities are expected to
cough up
 a cumulative sum of 1.6 billion ringgit (US$346.3 million) from their own books for startup funding.

Another thing to bear in mind is that these institutions cater to a specific audience. The Employees Provident Fund, for instance, is reserved for private sector workers while the Retirement Fund (also known by its Malay acronym, KWAP) is solely for civil servants. Not everyone is invested in these entities.

A “public” case, however, can be made this way: Since Khazanah has to give dividends to the government, a bad investment could mean lower dividends.

Direct public funds are channeled through various ministries and their respective agencies. For tech, you have the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and all its agencies such as the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation.

There are also Finance Ministry-controlled companies such as Penjana Kapital and Mavcap, which invest in tech startups, that receive a direct injection of funds from the government. Now, Penjana and Mavcap are among
Carsome’s shareholders
, and here is where the taxpayer angle is most relevant.

‘Coordinated attacks’ by the media?

Now, back to Mr Kee. In a
Twitter thread
 dated June 11, he wrote, among others, that “a certain rival group is trying to shut us down via coordinated attacks.”

Image credit: Aaron Kee’s Twitter

As far as
Tech in Asia
 is concerned, we’ve not heard of any such attack as we were working on the article.

Kee then
replied
 to a Twitter user saying he doesn’t want to allege anything defamatory. But he subsequently went to highlight local auto website Paultan.org, which were “plastered with myTukar’s ads.”

After being
called out
 by entrepreneur Colin Charles for jumping the gun over what seemed to be retargeted ads, Kee went on to say he used a “poor example” but claimed that Paultan.org was purportedly hiding its affiliation with myTukar.
He also wrote a follow up thread on the same subject, even saying that he met up with the journalist to explain matters, which have been liked and retweeted by some of Carsome’s staff.

I reached out to Paul Tan, the owner of the auto website, and he denied the possibility of being part of the alleged “coordinated attacks.” Aaron Tan, CEO of myTukar parent firm Carro, also denied being part of such a purported agenda, telling me that such allegations are “totally baseless and rejected entirely.”

I then reached out to Carsome for clarification, asking if the firm or Kee could prove the claims since the threads were retweeted by staff. I also asked whether Kee was tweeting in his personal capacity or if he was representing the company, as well as if Carsome could provide the identity of the journalist Kee was referring to or the publication the journalist is affiliated with.

A company spokesperson told me that Carsome will not be commenting on the matter.

Institutional FOMO and all that jazz

Anyway, there are some things we need to consider.

For one, a bridging round is normal in the tech world. But that Carsome needed to tap the might of Malaysian government-linked entities at this stage is something we need to watch, more so as the firm has come out in defense that it still has more than US$150 million in its war chest and that it is on path to break even this year.

One proxy for Carsome’s possible listing trajectory is US-based Carvana, which
isn’t doing too well
 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Sure, there are nuances in both companies’ business models. But there’s a similar concern: Will Carsome reach a point where it’ll
struggle
 to sell cars acquired at elevated prices?

There’s another question to consider: Where does Carsome plan to list? Bursa Malaysia may be a destination but the Main Market is a profit-testing exercise – companies need to
post profits
 at least for three years prior to listing.

Both Bursa and the Securities Commission Malaysia have been working on reforms, but will these be implemented in time to match Carsome’s listing needs?

For what it’s worth, Nasdaq and other stock exchanges have more sophisticated investors and liquidity. So even if Bursa delivers on its reforms, that’s just one part of a complex puzzle.

Finally, there’s always the fear that Malaysia will keep losing unicorns to (gasp) Singapore like the case of Grab, simply because our institutions weren’t quick enough to move in.

That’s true. And I know of some other Malaysian startups that have domiciled in Singapore already.

But this is a tricky case. Malaysia has much to do for it to catch up, from regulations to funding. The country’s institutions, for example,
do not even seed
 young fund managers, unlike what’s happening with Singapore’s Temasek.

At the same time, there’s still the fear that Malaysian institutions will invest in the wrong companies. Beneath this fear is also a lack of accountability.

Recently, Temasek cut compensation for its senior management and for the team that recommended the firm’s investment in FTX, the now-bankrupt crypto exchange.

You’ll never find that level of accountability here. In fact, we love to fail upward.

Currency converted from Malaysian ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.62 ringgit.


Carsome refutes report that it petitioned gov’t for funding

Photo credit: Carsome

In a statement released on June 8,
Carsome
 said it has neither petitioned nor solicited the Ministry of Finance for funding. This follows a
Tech in Asia

repor
t indicating otherwise.

The Malaysian unicorn reaffirmed that it posted strong growth in revenue and operational profitability for the first quarter of 2023. The company also added that it has a solid liquidity position of over US$150 million, which will allow the startup to continue expanding in the region.

In the statement, Carsome said that it submitted a letter on March 27 in response to an engagement session with the Ministry of Finance “to encourage and welcome the participation of Malaysian institutional investors in the company’s growth journey.”

As
Tech in Asia
 previously reported, Carsome is planning to do “an internal bridging round and an external mid-year fundraise” this year, which would be its “last” raises before a planned IPO.

According to the firm, its revenue for 2022 grew by 250%, driven by strong demand for its online car-buying and selling platform. The company’s new retail line,
Carsome Certified
, contributed 35% of total revenue last year.

“As we navigate a rapidly changing industry, Carsome has embraced adaptability and remained resilient,” said
Eric Cheng
, co-founder and group CEO of Carsome. “We are grateful for the government’s support towards a homegrown brand such as ours as we scale regionally.”

See also:
Carsome petitions Malaysian minister in bid to raise $55m before IPO

Note: This article was written with the help of AI. Don’t worry, humans were still involved in producing this story.


Crypto regulation heat map: Where does your country rank?

The editorial team at
Tech in Asia
 has been talking about crypto regulation since the meltdown of TerraLabs in May last year.

Over the past year, many countries have progressed toward fixing the problems that led to the current crypto winter, but only a very few countries have come up with comprehensive reforms.

No country – usually by their own admissions – has a complete regulatory framework that covers the entire industry.

To help you follow all these developments, we’ve created a regulatory heat map. Above, you’ll find the countries most involved in crypto, so you can see where the most progress is being made.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

We looked at everything from the basic questions such as “Is crypto legal?” to more complex questions like “Does the country differentiate between centralized and decentralized exchanges?”

We have also compiled a regulatory tracker below to help you keep track of the latest updates.

How we did it

First, the map is meant to show who is regulating and who isn’t. It doesn’t indicate the strictness of the regulations or how well-thought out they are. We will get to those later.

For each country, we looked at four questions in four categories.

General regulations

Is crypto (as a whole) legal?

How many different agencies are involved in regulating the sector?

Are there any established laws?

Is the government actually regulating crypto or just talking about it?

How tokens are traded

Is a license required to operate an exchange?

Has the government passed any laws specifically on crypto exchanges?

Does the government differentiate between centralized and decentralized exchanges?

Does the government require decentralized exchanges to be licensed?

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is causing problems for regulators, and the category often gets lumped in as a virtual asset service provider (VASP), a catch-all category for any platform that handles token exchanges.

Because of that, some countries do require DeFi platforms to be licensed, even if there are no laws on how to handle the peculiarities of that sector.

Stablecoins

Does the government regulate the issuance of tokens in the country?

Does the country allow its own currency to back the tokens?

Can stablecoins be legally traded on an exchange?

Has the country enacted any policies or passed any regulations on unbacked (algorithmic) stablecoins?

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)

Are there laws covering the minting, selling, and trading of NFTs?

Are NFT exchanges regulated?

Does the government recognize NFTs as property or securities?

Is there any legal recognition for NFTs that are bound to physical goods?

Breakdown by country

Thailand, one of the last countries we analyzed, was our biggest surprise. It scored higher than any other country on our heat map, which was unexpected given that just a few years ago, it was actively banning some areas of crypto.

Thailand started regulating the sector in 2018, following a previous ban on all crypto. The current regulations include who gets a license to trade crypto assets and a ban on using cryptocurrencies for payments. Thailand also regulates NFTs, which almost no other country does.

More regulations on stablecoins are expected later this year.

Unlike Thailand, it should surprise no one that Singapore is one of the highest-scoring countries on this list. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has been active in formulating regulations for the sector.

The only areas Singapore hasn’t issued regulations on are decentralized exchanges and NFTs.

Another no-surprise near the top of our list is the Philippines. Not only is it popular among the Web3 gaming crowd, the country has also been actively seeking ways to develop its own crypto exchanges and tokens.

The focus, though, has been mainly on tokens and payments. Stablecoins and NFTs are still largely unregulated.

Another early adopter of crypto, South Korea has taken proactive steps in developing rules for the sector.

The one glaring hole is the lack of rules on stablecoins. Even a year after the downfall of TerraLabs, the Korean crypto startup whose demise sent the entire industry into a tailspin, the country still hasn’t passed any legislation.

NFTs are also largely unregulated.

You’d think the city’s recent release of regulations – and its desire to be an Asian crypto hub – would place it higher on this list.

But Hong Kong is really starting from zero. While the general rules are there, a lot of the specifics still need to be ironed out.

The EU was applauded when it approved the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations.

Then people read the document and realized that although the regulations are thorough, they still haven’t covered large swathes of the industry, including decentralized exchanges and NFTs.

Japan was one of the earlier regulators of crypto, and its rules are generally well-thought out and thorough. But regulatory changes don’t come quickly in the country, and there is a lot to be addressed, including stablecoins.

But if there’s any country whose scores we’d expect to jump in a future version of the tracker, it would be Japan. It seems cognizant of the need for more legislation and is working toward that.

Indonesia can be a little hard to read. Just last year, the country issued a moratorium on crypto exchanges. Then, the government handed the regulatory authority on crypto over to a new agency and everything changed.

Now the government’s talking about the digital rupiah and even looking at regulations for asset-backed NFTs. The only significant gap in their regulations is the lack of DeFi rules.

We hesitate to label the US as “anti-crypto,” but that title fits. The country has no clear regulatory direction on crypto, instead allowing various agencies to offer competing and even contradictory rules on whether crypto is a commodity or a security.

These agencies then tried to shoehorn assets into existing regulations. The only clear message from the Securities and Exchange Commission is: “If it’s a security, we have regulatory oversight.”

This policy has resulted in an “enforcement by action” environment that has made it very difficult for firms to operate in the country.

While there has been talk about legislation, it’s unlikely that the current government will pass any new laws.

Malaysia seems to be using the US crypto playbook. There are no legislations or regulations on crypto, and the general stance is: If it’s a security, then Bank Negara Malaysia – the central bank – can regulate it.

That means using the old security laws already on the books.

The UAE is known for its light regulatory touch, but that doesn’t mean the sector isn’t seriously regulated. The government has recently passed regulations on exchanges and tokens, and stablecoin rules are also in the works.

But the challenge is knowing which regulatory agency you’re dealing with. There are different rules for Dubai, Abu Dhabi, mainland UAE, and the free zones.

India seemed poised to pass crypto regulations in 2021, but the bill stalled and hasn’t been addressed since. Its future is uncertain, but all crypto exchanges are now required to institute anti-money laundering programs.

Vietnam frequently shows up as a place that loves and uses crypto. There are no rules yet, but the president
has admitted
 that it needs them.

China’s attitude to crypto is simple: nope.

To be fair, that IS regulatory clarity. And the country isn’t opposed to
blockchain technology
, but it seemingly wants to keep the technology separate from the financial system. If you’re looking for insight on how China might develop crypto, keep a close eye on Hong Kong.


Carsome petitions Malaysian minister in bid to raise $55m before IPO

Photo credit: Carsome

Malaysian unicorn
Carsome
 is planning two funding rounds this year as it gears toward an IPO. And it’s asking a Malaysian minister to help it achieve its goal.

In a March 27 letter sent to Deputy Finance Minister Steven Sim, the company implored the official to recommend the firm as an investment to Malaysian government-linked entities.

In the letter seen by
Tech in Asia
, Carsome said it would do “an internal bridging round and an external mid-year fundraise” this year, which would be its “last” ones before a planned IPO.

The company wrote that while it is “known widely” as a Malaysian unicorn, investments from local government-linked investors “only amount to less than 10% of our cap table. This is far overshadowed by the enthusiasm and support from foreign-owned funds.”

Carsome is pursuing the bridge investment with existing investors. Qatar Investment Authority, as well as Temasek-backed firms 65 Equity Partners and Seatown Holdings, will be leading the US$45 million round.

But the used-car platform said the three VC firms would like “to see a commitment of US$10 million” from “other existing Malaysian institutional investors.”

Deputy Finance Minister Steven Sim (white shirt) visiting Carsome’s regional headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia in February. / Photo credit: Carsome

Tech in Asia
 understands that Carsome has closed its US$45 million fundraiser and is now looking to complete the remaining US$10 million from local investors.

Carsome said it hopes that the Finance Ministry “can strongly recommend” other Malaysian government-linked financial institutions and investment companies to participate in an external fundraise later this year.

Names mentioned in the letter are: Khazanah Nasional, Employees Provident Fund, Armed Forces’ Fund Board, Retirement Fund, Petronas Ventures, and Sime Darby, among others. All these entities fall under the purview of the Finance Ministry.

Khazanah Nasional is the country’s sovereign wealth fund while the rest are state-owned financial investors except for Petronas Ventures and Sime Darby, which are corporations linked to the government.

The letter doesn’t state when or where Carsome intends to list, but the firm told Sim that these funding rounds, along with participation from state-linked entities, “will be key in determining Carsome’s future direction and investments locally.”

Carsome confirmed the letter with
Tech in Asia
 but declined to comment on the funding rounds, citing confidentiality. However, the firm stressed that it has “a robust liquidity position of over US$150 million.”

The company previously
told

Tech in Asia
 that it had implemented its “accelerated profitability plan” and is expected to return to the black this year after retrenching about 5% of its workforce in 2022.

It is also part of a Malaysian digital banking consortium that is set to launch its first product by the end of 2023.

Correction (June 8, 7.37 p.m. SGT): The story has been corrected to reflect a more accurate amount Carsome intends to raise in the headline and text, as well as the status of the two fundraisers.


PolicyStreet bags $15.3m from Malaysian gov’t to bolster insurance products

PolicyStreet management / Photo credit: PolicyStreet

Malaysian insurtech company
PolicyStreet
 has raised US$15.3 million in its series B funding round led by local sovereign fund
Khazanah Nasional Berhad
. This investment was made under the fund’s 6 billion ringgit (US$1.3 billion) Dana Impak mandate.

PolicyStreet offers digital insurance options to both consumers and businesses, aiming to make such products more accessible and affordable with the firm’s in-house underwriting capabilities.

Founded by
Wilson Beh
,
Yen Ming Lee
, and
Winnie Chua
 in 2016, the firm counts Shopee Malaysia, Foodpanda Malaysia, and Carsome among its partners. These collaborations allow PolicyStreet to offer its services to gig economy workers.

Funding details

Funding amount:
 US$15,300,000

Lead investor:
 Khazanah Nasional Berhad

Other investors:
 Altara Ventures, Gobi Partners, Spiral Ventures (IMJ Investment Partners)

Stage:
 Series B

Source

Since its establishment, the firm has served over 50,000 SMES and 500,000 gig workers who belong to the
Bottom 40%
 (B40) group. Malaysia categorizes B40 households as those that have an income of below US$1,055.

PolicyStreet looks to reach a total of 2.5 million gig workers and 300,000 SMEs within the next five years.

The company will use its fresh funds to strengthen its tech and underwriting system, as well as increase on-demand underwriting policies.

Last year, its co-founder Wilson Beh was also appointed as
the 2022-2023 president
 of the
Fintech Association of Malaysia
 committee.

See also:
The rise of enigmatic insurtech unicorn Bolttech

Currency converted from Malaysian ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.60 ringgit.

More details

PolicyStreet
→

The company was founded in 2016 by
Wilson Beh
,
Yen Ming Lee
, and
Winnie Chua
.

Stage

Amount (US$)

Investors

Seed

500,000

KK Fund

Series A

7.8 million

Auspac, Altara Ventures, Gobi Partners, KK Fund, Spiral Ventures (IMJ Investment Partners)

Series B

15.3 million

Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Altara Ventures, Gobi Partners, Spiral Ventures (IMJ Investment Partners)

Total

23.6 million


What Malaysia’s latest policies mean for the tech scene

Dan Lain-Lain
 (Malay for “and others”) is a weekly column by TIA journalist Emmanuel Samarathisa that dissects the goings-on in the Malaysia tech scene but with a heavy mix of current affairs, policy and politics. Click
here
 to read past articles.

The Kuala Lumpur cityscape / Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

It’s that season again where there are a number of political maneuvers and public policies that will have some bearing on the Malaysian tech scene. Good or bad, you be the judge. But let’s get to it:

Politicians appointed to tech-related agencies

At the time of writing, there are two agencies that have politicians – more precisely, members of parliament (MPs) – as their non-executive chairperson.

The Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
appointed
 Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, an MP of the Ledang constituency, as chairperson, while state-owned tech financier Malaysia Debt Ventures
picked
 Wong Chen, who’s from the Subang constituency, to be on the chair.

Both men hail from Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the political party led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

For what it’s worth, Anwar’s men also command the key portfolios when it comes to government tech and startup funding: finance (Anwar himself); science, innovation, and technology (Chang Lih Kang); economic affairs (Rafizi Ramli); and communications and digital (Fahmi Fadzil).

In Malaysia, despite the possible conflict of interest, there isn’t an explicit clause that bars politicians from being on the board of government agencies. This is an old practice, anyway.

Why this is frowned upon is because of conflict and all the other negative things associated with such an appointment: patronage, corruption, and so forth.

Further, the country’s anti-graft agency is also under the control of the prime minister. It isn’t an independent body in the sense that it reports to the parliament.

While these appointees are vetted by the anti-graft agency, the process has been more of a performative measure since it’s not up for public scrutiny.

You could argue there are merits to appointing yes-men. Those politically affiliated with the prime minister, for instance, may have the ability to execute mandates or reforms.

But with very little oversight, who watches over the chiefs?

I’m concerned about one thing though: whether we can break away from the status quo.

The thing is, we need a hard reset. That means consolidating tech agencies, firing a few people in the process, closing a few of firms, and revamping this entire space.

Government has an
outsized influence
 on the tech and startup sector. While that may not be a bad thing, direct involvement isn’t a good idea either.

These politicians, despite holding corporate jobs prior to joining politics, don’t have the skills to run tech companies, let alone tech agencies.

They may have contacts and be able to gather opinions, but they haven’t had that experience of bootstrapping a startup, raising funds, or even running a business.

This then brings us to the same old problem of tech agencies not doing much to move the country’s startup needle. So what should we expect? The usual grandiose statements of birthing x number of unicorns or setting aside x amount of ringgit for “innovative” and “high-growth startups.”

Kuala Lumpur to be a regional startup hub

Economic Affairs Minister Rafizi
said
 he wants to make Kuala Lumpur the country’s startup hub.

To be sure, Kuala Lumpur is pretty large. What he probably meant was the downtown part and the nearby transport hub KL Sentral.

This is all well and good, but it goes back to what I
wrote
 earlier about Cyberjaya being the next tech white elephant: It’s another vanity project.

Kuala Lumpur is naturally the port of call for many tech firms simply because it’s the most connected city in the country. That’s why TikTok, for instance, houses thousands of employees here.

This isn’t to say other cities or states don’t come close. Penang is a good example of a well-connected state outside Kuala Lumpur, but the latter is still the nation’s capital.

But we have already experimented with so many so-called hubs and we’re not getting it right. Kuala Lumpur as a tech hub was former prime minister Najib Razak’s pet project too.

He tried turning Bangsar South into a tech hub, but that only resulted in companies moving their operations and call centers there – not exactly “innovative.”

Startups need access to three things: funding, talent, and an ecosystem to test their products. Malaysia can easily meet all three but isn’t because it has brain drain problems, a lack of young fund managers, and no laws that can keep pace with, well, innovation.

A good example is how we go on about drone readiness but we aren’t really
amending relevant laws
 for service providers to easily test their solutions.

Digital nomads in a pinch

Finally, if you’re planning to get a digital nomad visa – aka DE Rantau – and hole up in Penang to work remotely, I have some news for you: The state has
banned
 Airbnb services or any short-term rentals for residential properties.

But the ban excludes six types of commercial properties: service apartments,
SoHos, SoFos, SoVos
, office suites, and duplex offices.

Still, owners of these commercial units who plan to offer any kind of
short-term rental
, which Penang defined as up to six months or 180 days, must secure approval from their respective joint management bodies or management corporations. These owners also need a 75% “yes” vote from other residents at the annual general meeting.

Penang is one of the country’s most urban states and a hub for big tech multinationals. Naturally, this state will be an alternative for those who want to work as a nomad but prefer somewhere other than Kuala Lumpur.

Hotel groups are
thrilled
 with the state government’s move to curb Airbnbs.

Aside from the usual industry lobbyists, there are good reasons why Airbnb guests aren’t welcomed, e.g., they may not be on their best behavior. Also, most, if not all, who reside in a guarded condominium do so for the security and peace of mind.

How much will this policy be a turn-off for digital nomads? Anecdotally, from what I’ve gathered after asking a number of digital nomads or hopefuls, this might be a dealbreaker.

The attractive feature of the DE Rantau program is that visa holders can move around the country during that one-year duration. The visa can be extended for another year, pending approvals.

Short-term rentals were a draw because a nomad can spend a few months in Penang and then move to, say, Kuala Lumpur or another city within Peninsular Malaysia. Now that dream is up in the air.


Malaysia aims to improve agriculture sector through alternative financing

The Kuala Lumpur cityscape / Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Securities Commission Malaysia
 chair
Awang Adek Hussin
 has reaffirmed the importance of applying fintech in agriculture to strengthen the country’s food security.

The SC chairman delivered an opening address at the
SCxSC Grow Fintech Conference
 held in Kuala Lumpur earlier today.

He noted that the agricultural sector’s contribution to Malaysia’s GDP declined from 29% in the 1970s to
6.6% in 2022
. This has encouraged the Malaysian government to accelerate its financing initiatives to support the sector.

“Alternative financing avenues such as
equity crowdfunding
 (ECF) and peer-to-peer (P2P) financing allow investors with the right risk appetite to mobilize capital directly for agripreneurs,” Awang Adek said. “This provides more options for younger and high-growth companies to access capital relevant to their business risk profiles.”

He added that SC-registered ECF and P2P financing, launched in 2015, has supported over 7,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which have raised more than 4.4 billion ringgit (US$952 million). However, only 600 MSMEs were agriculture-related, signaling room for growth.

In 2019, the government created the
Malaysia Co-Investment Fund
 (MyCIF) to co-invest in micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through ECF and P2P financing platforms.

To help local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, MyCIF lowered the investment ratio to 1:2, meaning that MyCIF would invest 1 ringgit for every 2 ringgit raised from private investors.

Last year, this scheme was specifically extended to agriculture industry players. Awang Adek said that there has been a 4x increase in agribusinesses raising funds through ECF and P2P platforms since the change.

See also:
The key players in SEA’s agritech space

Currency converted from Malaysian ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.62 ringgit.


Grab debuts new carpooling feature in Malaysia

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Grab
 has rolled out its carpooling service in Klang Valley, a region in Malaysia. Called JustSave, the feature will allow users to carpool with other passengers on a similar route.

The tech giant said that on average, users may save 20% on fares, while Grab drivers will receive payments from two bookings in one journey.

Only one passenger is allowed per booking, with a maximum of two bookings per ride. Grab will also lock in routes, so there will be no last-minute changes to affect the journey.

Currently, it is available only at peak times around KLCC, Mid Valley Bangsar, Sentral Brickfields, and One Utama.

The firm had previously launched similar carpooling services in Malaysia:
GrabHitch
 in 2016 and
GrabShare
 in 2017.

However, Grab explained that JustSave will only confirm a booking if the request is matched. Otherwise, the passenger will get a discounted JustGrab ride, which is served by a car or a taxi.

In February,
GrabFood Malaysia
 expanded its Saver Delivery option, in which users benefit from lower fares for grouped food delivery orders.

See also:
Grab’s GMV is stagnant. It needs to reverse that to break even


Get a license or get out, Hong Kong tells crypto platforms ahead of June launch

Welcome to Token Issue! Delivered every Friday, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories in Asia’s crypto scene and beyond. View past issues
here
 or
sign up here
 to receive future newsletters.

Good news everybody.

Despite the fact that Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Hotbit ceased operating this week, the lights are flashing green for Hong Kong’s crypto debut on June 1. In anticipation of that, the city’s Securities and Futures Commission released its consultation report on crypto trading platforms on Tuesday, which includes new rules and regulations.

Many are hoping this will be a watershed moment for the crypto industry, which hasn’t had much to celebrate over the last year. It’s been a rough ride through the bear market, with characters like FTX’s
Sam Bankman-Fried
 and
Caroline Ellison
, Terraform Labs’
Do Kwon
, and Three Arrows Capital’s
Su Zhu and Kyle Davies
 making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The recent crypto crackdown by US SEC chairman
Gary Gensler
 certainly doesn’t help matters.

In spite of all that, blockchain technology still has a future. That’s the word from Tony Fadell, the former Apple executive known as the “father of the iPod,” who gave
Tech in Asia
 an exclusive interview this week to talk about AI.

Spoiler alert: That future may not be in decentralized finance. You can check out our Deep Dive to see where Fadell thinks blockchain is heading.

— Scott

🤿 THE DEEP DIVE

AI to boost blockchain development

Image credit: Timmy Loen

The development of blockchain and AI technologies is not mutually exclusive, Tony Fadell tells
Tech in Asia.
 In an interview with news editor Collin Furtado, he says blockchain is “real technology” that isn’t going to go away. With the rise of creative AI and deepfake tech, the need for tools that can provide verification will become even more critical, he says.

Fadell also talks about his experience building products for Southeast Asia, which stems from his time living in Indonesia.

👀 ALL EYES ON…

What everyone’s talking about.

1⃣
Hong Kong issues new crypto report and rules

No air drops. No stablecoins (for now). And retail investors can only trade Bitcoin and Ether.

Those were but a few of the many rules dropped by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on Tuesday. But the bottom line remains the same: Platforms looking to trade virtual assets can apply for licenses to do so from June 1. The agency also said that any virtual asset service provider (VASP) that does not plan to get a license should
“proceed to an orderly closure of their business in Hong Kong.”

Along with the rules on airdrops and stablecoins, the SFC also said tokens must have a 12-month track record before they will be allowed on exchanges. VASPs must also conduct due diligence on tokens before they are listed.

As for exchanges, the new regulations say they must maintain a minimum of HK$5,000,000 (US$640,000) in capital and disclose their platform’s available and required liquid capital. They must also report their outstanding bank loans, advances, and credit facilities, as well as a profit and loss analysis, to the SFC at the end of each month.

Not surprisingly, the paper covers capital requirements for exchanges as well as rules on anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism.

These rules are the second major set of crypto regulations announced this year, following the
passage of MiCA
 in April. And like the European rules, they are as yet incomplete. Specifically, stablecoins will not be allowed on exchanges until additional regulations are approved.

The new rules are the city’s first steps in a broader plan to become a global virtual assets hub. Investors will also be watching Hong Kong for indications of China’s willingness to engage with the wider crypto industry. Crypto is currently banned in mainland China.

2⃣
Hotbit’s demise: no one wants to use CEXes anymore

On Monday, Hong Kong-based Hotbit became the latest crypto exchange to shut operations, although it did so without having to declare bankruptcy.

Instead, the five-year-old exchange with over 5 million users cited poor operating conditions and the diminished role of centralized exchanges (CEXes). It noted that the collapse of FTX and the US crises have caused investors to pull their funds from CEXes, including Hotbit.

“The Hotbit team believes that centralized exchanges are becoming increasingly cumbersome, with highly complex and interconnected businesses that are difficult to comply with, whether for compliance or decentralization, and are unlikely to meet long-term trends,” it said in an online statement.

The company also noted that a
criminal investigation
 into a former team member in August 2022 hurt its business.

Hotbit users have until June 21 to withdraw their funds.

3⃣
Malaysia says Huobi is unregistered, orders them out of the country

While Hong Kong is getting ready to launch its crypto initiative, Malaysia is cracking down on what it sees as illegal crypto trading.

The Securities Commission Malaysia has ordered
Huobi
 to disable its platform in the country. It has labeled the exchange’s operations in Malaysia as “illegal.”

According to
a public reprimand
 issued by the regulator against Huobi and its CEO Leon Li, the firm is operating without proper registration.

There has been no official comment from Huobi but as of Wednesday, most of the site’s features were inaccessible from Malaysia.

The closure came just one day after Malaysian police in the state of Melaka
busted an alleged criminal syndicate
 offering “non-existent cryptocurrency investment schemes.”

⭐ TO THE STARS

Impactful developments and projects in Web3.

1⃣
SNARKy technology will be as big as blockchain, Ethereum founder says

Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, believes zk-SNARKs are the next big thing.

“Zk-SNARKs are going to be as important as Blockchains in the next 10 years,” he said, according to a tweet from EDCON, which hosted the event he was speaking at.

According to
The Motley Fool
, zk-SNARK stands for Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge. It is a “zero-knowledge proof protocol” that hides the information in cryptocurrency transactions.

The Fool
, wisely, did not comment on whether zk-SNARKs would rule afoul of know-your-customer or anti-money laundering regulations.

2⃣
Dubai plans the Crypto Tower

Dubai is certainly known for its skyline and unusual architecture, which includes everything from the
Burj Al Arab
, the
Burj Khalifa
, and the
Museum of the Future
.

The emirate will soon be home to the world’s first “Bitcoin tower.” Its developer says the 40-story, art deco-styled building will be located in Jumeirah Lake Towers on the southern side of the city. It will combine the “digital and physical world in a community-centric, vertical structure” and include residential, commercial, and retail spaces. There will even be an “NFT gallery.”

Since this is Dubai, the tower will also have an exotic supercar dealership and a precious metal storage vault.

According to the developer’s website, the tower will be “entirely built using a smart contract.” Investors can purchase NFTs that represent one square foot of the building’s 150,000 square feet area. NFT holders will receive a proportional share of the building’s quarterly revenues and can also take part in the building’s DAO.

The tower is designed by Salvatore Leggiero and backed by Metaverse Investments.

MORE TO CHEW ON

Stuff that’s good to know.

1⃣
Spouses be warned: divorce attorneys increasingly looking for hidden virtual assets

Hunting for hidden crypto assets isn’t just for federal prosecutors anymore. A report from
CNBC
 shows that attorneys are becoming more crypto-aware and asking about digital wallets. If the spouse doesn’t admit to having them, attorneys are turning to forensic accountants to hunt them down. In 2021, one divorce attorney found 12 bitcoins hidden in a wallet by the husband of a New York housewife. The stash was valued at over US$500,000 back then.

2⃣
Gemini working to avoid default by Genesis on $630m loan

Crypto exchange Gemini says it is working with Digital Currency Group (DCG), the parent company of Genesis Global Capital, to avoid a default by Genesis on a US$630 million loan.

Gemini says the loan was due last week. It is currently working with other creditors and is considering whether to offer a forbearance, which would give Genesis more time to pay. The forbearance will be considered only if DCG engages in good faith negotiations, Gemini said.

A second suit, this one by bankrupt exchange FTX, is complicating the case. The firm is seeking about US$3.9 billion in cash and cryptocurrencies from Genesis.

3⃣
Biden says he won’t protect crypto traders in debt negotiations

On Sunday, the final day of the G7 summit, US President Joe Biden spoke about his current battle with congressional Republicans over lifting the country’s debt ceiling. Unless Republicans and Democrats reach a deal that allows the government to borrow more money, the US could default on its debt in early June.

“I’m not going to agree to a deal that protects wealthy tax cheats and crypto traders while putting food assistants at risk,” Biden said.

The deal that the president was referring to, according to
The Washington Post
, is a loophole called
tax-loss harvesting
. It is a strategy where investors sell an asset at a loss and then quickly repurchase it. Democrats are proposing to close the loophole but have faced rejection from Republicans.

4⃣
Do Kwon heads back to jail after bail revoked

A court in Montenegro revoked the bail of former Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon on Wednesday. The judge agreed with prosecutors that the bond worth 800,000 euros (US$859,000) posted by Kwon was not enough to ensure he and Chang-joon Han, Terraform Labs’ former finance officer, would not “run away once they are released from detention,”
Reuters
 reported.

Kwon is wanted in South Korea and the US for his involvement in the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin. He will remain in pre-trial detention. He and Han were arrested when they allegedly tried to fly to Dubai using forged documents.

That’s all for this issue – we hope you liked it. Do also check out previous editions of the newsletter
here
.


How the maker of movie franchise Ah Boys to Men is hopping onto Web3

Mm2 Entertainment
, one of Asia’s major film production companies, made a decisive entry into the Web3 space in 2021 with the launch of
Metaviva
, then an
NFT
 marketplace. Amid the height of the crypto craze, Metaviva had grand plans to capitalize on it.

Metaviva head Darren Ho / Photo credit: Metaviva

However, the firm went back to the drawing board when consumers ended up having to navigate through a tedious 17-step process to use the platform.

Mm2 Entertainment, which is listed on the Singapore bourse, offers a wide range of services in the media and entertainment space, including film production and distribution, content licensing, and event management.

One of Mm2 Entertainment’s notable and widely recognized properties is the
Ah Boys to Men
 movie franchise. The company has also been involved in the production and distribution of other titles.

The SGX-listed firm’s
revenue grew 50%
 to US$113 million in FY 22 on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic recovery in Singapore and Malaysia. In the same period, losses also fell by nearly 60% to US$35.8 million.

Mm2 Entertainment established Metaviva as a subsidiary to gain deeper insights from a younger and more digitally savvy audience and generate additional revenue streams.

Initially, Metaviva offered services related to the creation, buying, and selling of NFTs. The platform also included a marketplace where creators could mint and list their digital assets like artwork, collectibles, and other forms of digital media.

However, users raised concerns about the complexity of creating NFTs and the volatility of cryptocurrencies. They desired a more user-friendly experience and the option to make purchases using traditional payment methods like credit cards.

Users also emphasized the importance of receiving tangible benefits or rewards when buying NFTs.

This led Metaviva to focus on bridging the existing gap between Web2 and Web3 users.

“Before we even think about reaching the moon, our rocket must be able to carry people and those people must know how to navigate the journey,”
Darren Ho
, Mm2 Entertainment’s head of digital and Web3 initiatives, tells
Tech In Asia
.

From ground zero

Metaviva’s three-pronged approach to solve the Web3-bridging problem involves providing a user-friendly interface, integrating mainstream payment options, and forging relevant partnerships.

The company introduced the Metaviva (MV) Pass, a Web3 loyalty program for the media and entertainment space.

Photo credit: Metaviva

It provides users with exclusive benefits and access to premium features within the Metaviva platform.

By subscribing to the MV Pass, users unlock a range of perks that create synergies with Mm2 Entertainment’s vast content portfolio. Exclusive access to premium content, early previews of new releases, invitations to events, as well as discounts on movies and related merchandise are some of the rewards users can enjoy.

The pass aims to eliminate multiple registration steps for users – they just need to follow three steps: downloading the app, claiming their first NFT, and creating a wallet.

Users can also link their wallet to their email address, so there’s no need to go through the traditional process of setting up a separate wallet.

To address the concerns of Web2 users who were hesitant to adopt cryptocurrencies, the MV Pass allows traditional payment methods such as credit cards.

Additionally, Metaviva is working on integrating their ecosystem with that of Web3 gaming firm The Sandbox to facilitate the flow of information and collaboration between the two platforms.

The building blocks

While Metaviva was initially launched as an NFT marketplace, MM2 Entertainment saw the potential to generate additional revenue by minting and selling NFTs based on its own intellectual property and that of its partners.

Photo credit: 123RF

NFTs served as a digital marketing tool – similar to physical tokens given away by movie promoters – to boost ticket sales and engage the community.

Blockchain also offers the advantage of digitally connecting users to the original intellectual property, hence fostering cross-promotion and community building. This forms the basis of Metaviva’s loyalty program.

Also, by using a shared blockchain infrastructure, Metaviva can easily connect with other companies without needing to build an interoperable system from scratch.

The company chose Polygon as its blockchain solution after weighing its affordability and stability.

Landing a slam dunk

Metaviva has also introduced a
crowdfunding launchpad
, which provides creators, athletes, and artists with the tools and resources to showcase their talents, raise funds, and connect with a supportive community.

Through the launchpad, individuals can use digital collectibles, NFTs, and other blockchain-based assets to incentivize contributions.

Photo credit: Metaviva

By owning these NFTs, supporters can gain exclusive access to content, early releases, limited edition merchandise, or unique experiences tied to the project they’re backing.

Recently, Metaviva collaborated with an athlete’s initiative to raise US$1 million for peers participating in major sports events.

The project, which is still ongoing, raised US$1,170 within the first two days.

Eyeing to reach 50,000 engaged users within the next year, Metaviva aims to generate interest in the media and entertainment industry, particularly in Singapore and Asia.

Lights, Camera, Films!

On a related note, Metaviva is looking into decentralizing the storage of film assets.

The company aims to use blockchain networks to aid in storing and distributing movies, focusing on
digital cinema packages (DCPs)
, the standard delivery format for screenings.

Photo credit: Metaviva

It’s assessing the feasibility of doing so through partnerships with blockchain storage solutions.

Conventional methods of storing film footage and related assets are known to be costly and resource-intensive, requiring substantial physical storage space and infrastructure, Ho says.

The company hopes that decentralized storage will not only protect media files from tampering, but also provide a more efficient and scalable content distribution method, reducing reliance on centralized servers or content delivery networks.

Metaviva envisions a future where blockchain networks can efficiently handle and store large volumes of data, resulting in cost savings and improved security.

While the idea of storing an entire movie in a decentralized way appears “ambitious” at this stage, Metaviva plans to take a phased approach, starting with short-form content such as 15- to 20-second clips.

Apart from archiving and distribution, the firm’s also looking to incorporate smart contracts to automate royalty management, safeguard copyright, and ensure fair compensation for creators.

Another goal of Metaviva’s is to become a concierge service for entertainment, and the company is exploring the implementation of AI and chatbot capabilities for that.

Users will be able to not only ask questions and receive personalized recommendations about films and other types of content, but also have a whole trip or concert experience planned by the AI.


This startup founder is seeing success in Ipoh

Dan Lain-Lain
 (Malay for “and others”) is a weekly column by TIA journalist Emmanuel Samarathisa that dissects the goings-on in the Malaysia tech scene but with a heavy mix of current affairs, policy, and politics. Click
here
 to read past articles.

Most discussions around startup hubs in Malaysia revolve around two areas: the Klang Valley and Penang. Rightfully so – they are the most developed parts of Peninsular Malaysia.

PTT Outdoor founder Mike Chu / Photo credit: Mike Chu

The capital city, Kuala Lumpur, is in the Klang Valley while Penang has long been touted as the “Silicon Valley of the East.” So these states naturally steal the spotlight.

But there are still some who go against the grain: founders who establish startups in places outside Malaysia’s urban bubble, such as in Ipoh.

Situated 200 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh is a city in the state of Perak. It’s located in between Kuala Lumpur and Penang and is served by the country’s major highway, the North-South Expressway.

There’s a punctual intercity rail service you can take from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh and vice versa. It also has an airport with direct flights to other Malaysian cities as well as Singapore.

If you’re still scratching your head over the location, this is the hometown of Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh. She still has a house there.

When it comes to the tech scene, however, there’s nothing much brewing in Ipoh – or at least that’s what the headlines tell us. Success stories are few and far between.

The latest was in 2022 when German conglomerate Siemens
acquired
 Radica Software, a little-known engineering startup, for an undisclosed sum. Radica still operates out of Ipoh.

But after some digging, I found 33-year-old Mike Chu Chin Hong, an Ipoh native and the founder of
PTT Outdoor
.

As its name suggests, PTT is an ecommerce platform that offers a wide spectrum of products related to outdoor activities. These range from hiking sticks and sleeping bags to camps and hammocks.

PTT makes 3.5 million ringgit (US$762,000) in yearly revenue. But what differentiates it from other companies or resellers, at least according to Chu, is that it has its own flagship brand, Tahan, named after Peninsular Malaysia’s tallest mountain.

What drew me to Chu, however, is simply the curiosity of running a tech-enabled company outside Kuala Lumpur.

Our interview, edited for brevity and clarity, as follows:

Q: Tell us a bit about PTT Outdoor and why you started the company.

I’m an avid hiker and previously I had trouble finding equipment suitable for Malaysian terrain. This was seven to eight years back. I also needed equipment that I could use in a tropical climate.

Typically there were outdoor gear for other climates and they weren’t suitable for ours and they were much more expensive. So I set out to build a company that could provide something affordable and made for the weather in this region.

We develop products within that range and we try to make them as high quality as possible.

I initially ran PTT as a Facebook group in 2016 and quickly grew the company by setting up a website. Today we have about 15 staff and a warehouse and physical office.

I bootstrapped during the initial stages and lived off my savings, which was then around 8,000 ringgit (US$1,500). But due to low operating costs as I was working from home, I quickly turned a profit.

Q: Why set up in Ipoh?

It was on a personal and business level. In the case of the former, this is my hometown and my parents are here, so I don’t want to be too far from them. That might sound selfish but it is what it is.

On the business side of things, the cost is much cheaper here. As a startup, I had to consider various overheads such as office rental. As an ecommerce platform, I have also rented warehouses for storage.

These things stack up really fast, more so in bigger cities. In some of the more urbanized areas, you’ll get a much smaller office at two or three times the price, depending on your location. So it doesn’t make financial sense.

I run an ecommerce company so I don’t have to worry much about location.

That said, I don’t have a number of things such as “better talent” or “better network.” There are adjustments and sacrifices you need to make when you establish a startup in places like Ipoh. I don’t get the fancy Bangsar South address but one on some unknown street. But no one cares, and I’m not building a real estate company.

Q: Infrastructure wise, Ipoh isn’t Penang or Kuala Lumpur…

When I first started, it really sucked. During the first five years of our business’ life, we didn’t have any broadband lines.

Now, infrastructure is much better. You get high-speed broadband throughout Ipoh. We have numerous logistics hubs so all I need to do is drive for five minutes, drop the parcels at the pickup point, and return to the office.

Q: How did you get connected to the wider startup community?

I remember asking Thomas Yip of Radica Software on how to run a tech-enabled business. After a few sessions, he recommended I join Cradle’s Coach & Grow program.

(Cradle’s Coach & Grow program is organized by the tech agency together with Proficeo, a Kuala Lumpur-based consultancy. The program, over a period of 12 months, consists of classes as well as mentorship sessions.)

Q: But that program is in Kuala Lumpur…

Yes, but I was very committed. So on days where I had to attend sessions, I took the first train to Kuala Lumpur, which was at 5 a.m. I’d reach the capital at 7:30 a.m. and then it’s off to the program. I would be done by 5 p.m. and then it’s back to Ipoh, as I wanted to save on hotel costs as well.

This was my routine for the entire program. But I’m glad I committed to the program. That’s how I met my business partner, Jason Khoo, who was a mentor there.

Q: When did you decide to get a partner onboard?

A: I brought on Jason after running solo for the first five years. He handles the numbers and backend operations while I focus on the front side of things such as sales, marketing, and product development.

Jason’s from Kuala Lumpur and I often make trips to the capital to see him for discussions. He wasn’t my assigned mentor at the Cradle coaching group program but we connected.

He also loves the outdoors. So we kept in touch for about four years before I finally suggested to him that he come onboard.

Q: Is getting talent to run the business a problem?

There are young people returning to Ipoh but not in droves. Those who return do so to spend time with parents. Ipoh is still a “retirement” city where people come to lead a more quiet life.

That said, at PTT, we have flexibility in terms of our working culture with hybrid working arrangements. We offer a substantial salary. I wouldn’t say higher than Kuala Lumpur but relatively better than Ipoh.

Q: You scaled and failed. What happened and what are the lessons learned?

This was pre-pandemic, I think four years ago. We became a tad overconfident and expanded to the Philippines because we wagered that even though they spoke Tagalog, they also spoke English, and their climate was somewhat similar to Malaysia’s.

The Philippines also had been charting a good GDP and they had a population larger than ours.

We set up our Philippine website and Facebook page. We even had sales but weren’t enough to cover costs.

But when we went in, we discovered a number of problems such as fragmented payment facilities. Many customers who ordered from us didn’t have credit cards or were unable to do bank transfers.

Back then they preferred cash on delivery (COD), but the issue with that is how their addresses can be difficult to locate.

And when they would choose COD, the problem back then was that you get charged for the parcel being sent there and you get charged for the parcel being sent back to you.

So we had cases where the recipients couldn’t receive the item for some reason and not only did we not get the payment, but we were also charged twice.

To be sure, I’m still looking at the Philippines. But this time, as for lessons learned, I’d do some things differently.

Aside from identifying payment processes and logistics partners, the major thing I’d do is build a local team. This is, perhaps, the most important lesson.

We did not understand the local market. We thought their Christmas was the same as ours, but it clearly wasn’t.

Q: What moats does an upstart like PTT have against bigger ecommerce platforms or even resellers on Lazada or Shopee?

The first is our own product development, especially under the Tahan brand.

We have done research and made substantial tweaks and changes to our products to differentiate them from what you find elsewhere. These are tailored to what our customers want, which we get from all the data we’ve collected through the years of selling outdoor gear.

Next is intellectual property such as patenting our products, but this one is more long-term given the work and resources involved.

Further down the road, we are trying to come up with AI models to predict, for example, when a product needs restocking or what newer offering to put out. We have the data, especially consumer habits and preferences, since we’ve been doing ecommerce for some time.

It’s not a perfect system yet but we are working on it.

Currency converted from Malaysian ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.58 ringgit.


SG, MY fuel PropertyGuru’s 16% revenue bump in Q1

PropertyGuru’s listing in NYSE / Photo credit: NYSE

Proptech firm
PropertyGuru
 reported a 16% increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2023 on the back of strong performances from its Malaysia and Singapore marketplaces.

It registered US$24.2 million in revenue for Q1, up from about US$21 million from a year ago. Its core market of Singapore contributed almost US$14 million of the amount, with Malaysia chipping in roughly US$5 million. Both markets showed year-on-year growth of around 25%.

Meanwhile, PropertyGuru’s performance in Vietnam continued to cool in the quarter, with segment revenues slumping 34.2% year on year to US$2.5 million. Joe Dische, CFO of PropertyGuru, attributed this to the local government’s attempt to temper the
real estate market woes
 in Vietnam by placing
monetary restrictions
 last year.

“Given macro uncertainty, we continue to keep a close eye on costs, especially with respect to discretionary spending,” he added.

The company logged US$7.6 million in net losses for the quarter, compared to US$89.4 million in the same year-ago period. However, the 2022 number included US$78 million in share listing expenses and US$13.3 million in legal and professional expenses for its IPO. Adjusted earnings landed at about US$160,000, down from about US$410,000 in Q1 2022.

See also:
SEA’s listed tech majors in 11 charts: Grab, Bukalapak extend their runway

PropertyGuru also reaffirmed its full-year 2023 outlook for revenue of US$118.8 million to US$126.2 million and adjusted earnings of US$8.2 million to US$11.1 million.


Malaysia orders Huobi to stop operations due to compliance concerns

Photo credit: Shutterstock

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has ordered
Huobi
 to disable its website and mobile app in the country, deeming the global crypto firm’s operations “illegal.”

The regulator issued
a public reprimand
 against Huobi and its CEO Leon Li on Monday, saying that the digital asset exchange is operating without local registration.

Huobi must also stop “circulating, publishing, or sending any advertisements, whether in email or on social media platforms, to Malaysian investors.”

Local users are urged to cease trading through the platform, withdraw all their investments, and close their accounts.

Li founded Huobi in 2013. The company has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and the UK, according to
Crunchbase
.

In September 2021, Huobi announced that it would
leave
 mainland China following a government ban. In July 2022, it was set to
halt operations
 in Thailand after its license was revoked by the regulator.

Earlier this year, the company planned to
lay off
 20% of its employees as part of a restructuring process. At the same time, it set a target to reach 100 million users by the end of 2023.

See also:
Does Huobi have a ticking time bomb on its hands?


Malaysian proptech firm bolsters local presence with merger

Housing development in Seri Tanjung Pinang / Photo credit: Shutterstock

LiveIn
, a proptech firm headquartered in Malaysia, has acquired local firm
KT Management
, solidifying its foothold in the country’s accommodation rental market.

Both companies provide long-stay rental homes, specifically to young people in Malaysia, with KT Management operating in the northern region. LiveIn is also available in Thailand.

With the merger, KT Management’s tenants, which number in the thousands, will benefit from LiveIn’s flexible community-living solutions and online-to-offline experience, according to a statement.

Keek Wen Khai
, co-founder and CEO of LiveIn, said the company is “aggressively pursuing acquisition opportunities” in Malaysia and around the region.

LiveIn pivoted from a marketplace for property owners to a long-stay rental solutions provider in 2018. It said it has raised US$4.5 million so far from
investors
 such as Jungle Ventures and Wavemaker Partners.

“The market conditions in Southeast Asia are perfect for LiveIn with its young people population, massive numbers of young professionals moving to the cities, and the huge property overhang,” Khai added.

See also:
Speedhome CEO on moonlighting and riding out Covid-19


The regulatory hurdles holding back Malaysia’s drone industry

Dan Lain-Lain
 (Malay for “and others”) is a weekly column by TIA journalist Emmanuel Samarathisa that dissects the goings-on in the Malaysia tech scene but with a heavy mix of current affairs, policy, and politics. Click
here
 to read past articles.

Pic credit: Wikimedia Commons

Let’s talk about drones. The major industry index that always sparks discussions is the
Drone Readiness Index
.

Malaysia seems to do well here. This year, we’ve moved up eight spots to no. 21 in the rankings. This puts us among the best – or if not the best – in Southeast Asia.

Malaysia also has two local drone service providers – Aerodyne and Meraque – globally ranking first and 18th, respectively.

The index is
developed
 by consultancy Drone Industry Insights (DII) and compares various countries’ drone regulations. DII uses six parameters to assess both countries and drone operators: applicability, human resources, airspace integration, operational limitations, administrative infrastructure, and social acceptance.

Aerodyne, in particular, has been making news for its rapid growth, fueled primarily by
mergers and acquisitions
. It’s also looking to
list
 soon, though it has not mentioned where.

I’m going to list some other positives for drone companies in Malaysia as well before I tackle some of the key problems.

The country is geographically diverse with different terrain. We have large “old economy” sectors such as plantations and telco services that need drone services.

But whether the take-up is encouraging remains anecdotal. Depending on who you talk to, some of the big players may say that drones help while others scoff at the tech.

We are also home to four drone sandboxes and there are some funding options for drone service providers. A large company like Aerodyne has also been a beneficiary of government funding.

Among the government agencies that’s really selling the drone agenda is the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (Mranti), which hosts one of the four sandboxes.

Its CEO, Dzuleira Abu Bakar, as well as its other officials have been on a media blitz, appearing on
radio stations
 and
news portals
. All well and good.

Same ol’ tune

But we’ve been droning about this for years. In fact, we are still short of real discussions if we are going to move the needle. There are two problems.

Firstly, the hurdles. Service providers need to get through four regulatory hoops for permits: the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) to fly drones; the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission for checks to control signals; SIRIM for device readiness and checks; and the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia for permissions to chart locations.

While these are the major government agencies overlooking the drone industry, they’re not the only ones that service providers have to deal with. They also need to get approval from the Chief Government Security Office to fly in designated no-fly zones as well as from local councils to operate their drones in certain areas.

You want to be ambitious by moving upstream? That’s what India’s Garuda Aerospace wants to do with its drone factory, and it wants to
build
 that in Malaysia.

To execute this, Garuda will need further approvals from a different set of agencies at both the federal and state level, such as the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.

While there have been some improvements to bring all these agencies and authorities together – the country launched a
drone roadmap
 last year – service operators will still need to go through the necessary hoops.

There isn’t a unified body to deal with drone approvals or investments. There is also bureaucracy to consider, which means a long approval period.

Worth mentioning are the sandboxes: While they are safe spaces to test drones, they are nowhere close to providing real-world simulations.

Secondly, the slow pace of legal reforms. Most of the countries that rank high on the Drone Readiness Index, such as Taiwan and South Korea, are
known
 for being able to quickly develop airworthiness requirements for high-risk drone operations.

Rules, rules, and more rules

In Malaysia, drone operators currently need special permission to fly higher than 120 meters, across no-fly zones, and above crowds or private premises. They also need approval to carry heavy payloads.

There are real concerns especially with privacy and safety. But due to slow approvals, many drone service providers are stuck if they want to, for example, test unmanned deliveries or do maintenance work for telco towers.

Ah, before I forget, if we’re talking about amending laws or drafting new ones, then we need to involve Parliament and the Attorney-General’s Chambers, too. So much fun.

Aerodyne is among Malaysia’s best drone services export. / Pic credit: Aerodyne

To be sure, Aerodyne and other drone companies have been testing out features since 2014. So this isn’t a new phenomenon. And it’s funny that we’re still talking about the slow pace of reforms.

Would there be improvements? CAAM is
promising
 to shorten the approval time for operators to run each drone. Currently it takes two weeks and – I kid you not – operators need to submit a written application by downloading the form online.

The agency will also launch an improved application system this year where it’s all done on an app, with approvals done in a day.

Economic Affairs Minister Rafizi Ramli
said
 the government would fast-track expatriate visa applications from the current three months to just five days, which would enable overseas drone companies and their employees to set up shop here quicker.

But, like all new aspirations, only time will tell how easy it will be for foreign operators to enter Malaysia.

Our neighbors are also catching up. Thailand, for example, is
using
 drones for smart farm projects. Indonesia
leveraged
 drone technology to deliver Covid-19 vaccines in 2021.

With so much happening around us, it’s inevitable that if Malaysian drone operators were to make any impact, the domestic market will be small and progress slow. So their best bet is to compete globally.


Trading platform Moomoo rolls out in Malaysia

Moomoo’s mascot / Photo credit: Futu Holdings

Hong Kong-based
Futu Holdings
 has rolled out its investment platform Moomoo in Malaysia, marking its second launch in Southeast Asia.

The company’s wholly-owned Malaysian subsidiary has recently won an approval-in-principle from the Securities Commission Malaysia to operate in the country, it said in a statement.

Moomoo’s platform enables users to invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds, and American depositary receipts, among other assets. It also allows clients to trade shares of companies in the US, Hong Kong, and China under a single account.

In addition to Malaysia, Moomoo is available in the US, Singapore, and Australia. The company has onboarded over 20 million users globally since it was founded in 2018.

Malaysia is set to be a “catalyst for growth” for Moomoo, given the country’s business-friendliness, high digital literacy, and educated talent pool, noted Robin Xu, senior partner and senior vice president of Futu Holdings.

See also:
Can Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara rival the fintech hubs of SG and HK?

“Following our success in Singapore and other Asia-Pacific markets, we are well-equipped to bring our international know-hows in transforming the digitized investment landscape in Malaysia,” he added.

Moomoo
launched in Singapore
 in 2021 and is regulated and licensed by the Monetary Authority of
Singapore.


No cash, no problem: Cross-border payments in SEA take off

Crossing a border has long meant going through the finicky process of getting ahold of some local currency. But that may no longer be the case for many of us soon.

As this graphic from the
Bank for International Settlements
 shows, countries across Asia are working to connect their payment systems. Malaysia, for instance, already has live payment links with both Thailand and Indonesia.

The link with Indonesia, which was recently
announced
, uses QR codes to facilitate payments. Currently, the payment link allows people traveling between the two countries to pay online merchants and for goods in physical stores.

The graphic above was used in a
webinar
 on
Project Nexus
, which aims to boost cross-border commerce. Financial authorities in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore are part of the project, so seamless payments could be rolled out further across the region in the near future.


Signature Market delays domestic IPO after profit decline

Signature Market’s first offline store in IOI City Mall. /Photo credit: IOI City Mall’s Facebook

Signature Market
, a Kuala Lumpur-based ecommerce platform, has postponed its plan to go public locally due to a “decline in profitability,” CEO and co-founder
Edwin Wang
 confirmed to
Tech in Asia
.

Founded as Signature Snack in 2014, the startup wants to make healthier food products more accessible and affordable in Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia.

According to filings with the Companies Commission of Malaysia, Signature Market posted a net profit of 4.2 million ringgit (US$929,000) in 2020, and its after-tax profit for 2021 was 10.4 million ringgit (US$2.3 million). The firm has yet to file its latest financials as its fiscal year ends on June 30.

However, Wang said that profit has been dropping in the past two years due to consumers shifting back to offline shopping. As such, the startup now focuses on growing its physical stores.

Yesterday, Signature Market opened its first mobile-enabled shop in IOI City Mall, a major shopping center in Putrajaya, the country’s administrative and judicial capital. Customers can purchase snacks from the company’s online platform and collect them at the store.

Signature Market
last raised
 US$1 million in a Series A round in 2019 from Axiata Digital Innovation Fund and RHL Ventures.

Wang
told
business publication
The Edge
 in 2021 that his company expected to list on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market the following year and would seek a transfer to the bourse’s Main Market in 2023.

See also:
Touch ‘n Go loses its monopoly in Malaysia. What now?

Currency converted from Malaysian ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.52 ringgit.


Tracking active LPs in SEA’s, India’s startup ecosystems

Here are some caveats about the data before we dive in:

The data was compiled from
Tech in Asia
’s database,
Angel Match
,
YNOS
, and the
TeamWave Blog
.

The information presented mostly covers the past three years.

The data primarily focuses on startup funding in Southeast Asia.

The list is indicative, not exhaustive.

Southeast Asia and India
have become hotspots for tech startup funding
. Last year alone, Southeast Asia saw US$30 billion funneled into funds focused on the region, while India-centric funds banked US$18.3 billion.

Venture capital may be synonymous with startup investments, but the funding landscape is filled with many more entities: family offices, sovereign wealth funds, angel investors, and more. VC firms and startups rely on a diversity of
limited partners
 to keep their operations running.

See also:
VC funds tracker: Four VCs raise $320m for Asian startups

Tech in Asia
’s data shows that the most active investors in the region are from Singapore, India, the US, and Indonesia.

Singapore’s domination on the investor list is no surprise. With a high
concentration of millionaires
 and
founders
, generous incentives from the government
through support schemes
, and a sharp
focus on innovation
, the country has become a hotbed for startups within and outside of the region.

One of Singapore’s government initiatives pushing to attract financiers is the
Global Investor Programme
, which helps investors become permanent residents of the city-state. With a large volume of high-net-worth investors residing in the country, a wealth of Singapore-based individual investors contribute to the regional startup ecosystem, our data shows.

India, in second place, also has a large number of individual investors.

Much of this is attributed to the maturation of the country’s startup ecosystem, which is home to roughly
50,000 startups
. A barrage of investors
coming from backgrounds beyond tech entrepreneurship
 and the perception that startup investing is an alternative to buying stocks on the foreign exchange are also other reasons.

In the US, investors have also been looking at
Southeast Asia
 and
India
, as recent meltdowns – such as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank – highlight
the importance of diversifying investments across geographies
.

These regions are relatively less mature than Europe or the US’ local startup ecosystem,
but there is
 faster digital adoption, a younger population, and more space for innovation.

Globally, the
number of unique investors
 participating in venture funding has also increased greatly within the past few years.

Last year, the total number of
corporate investors
 saw a significant increase, though the number of venture capital firms investing dropped.

According to
Tech in Asia
’s database, the number of individual investors investing in Southeast Asia and India has eclipsed the figure for institutional investors. That said, institutional investors account for a much larger amount of investment into startups in the region, with larger funds at their disposal.

See also:
Angel investor clubs are hot in the US, and now they’re growing in Southeast Asia

Unsurprisingly, most individual investors that
Tech in Asia
 has on this list were founders in their own right – there was double the number of ex-founders as opposed to executives in our database.

Most individual investors on our database also come from an investment background. Although investors from specific sectors tend to have a greater depth of knowledge in their field, those working at companies such as private equity firms and family offices tend to have a general understanding of the market and will likely engage in more diverse funding rounds.

Our data also reveals that investors from the fintech and ecommerce sectors, which are relatively more mature verticals, contributed equally to Southeast Asia and India’s startup funding ecosystem.

We hope that as we constantly update our database, it will be a useful reference for anyone who’s interested in limited partners in Southeast Asia and India.

We acknowledge that we’re missing some data, so do reach out to shadine@techinasia.com to help us fill in the gaps. Include the following details:

Name of the individual or institutional investor:
Current role and occupation:
Headquarters:
Investments made:
Name and LinkedIn profile of the partner:

You can also catch our coverage of active investors
here
 and find more information on investors through our database
here
.

Credits
Data
: Shadine Taufik
Illustration
: Timmy Loen
Editing
: Nikita Puri and Jaclyn Tiu


AirAsia taps Foodpanda for food delivery

Photo credit:
abdulrazaklatif / 123RF

AirAsia
 has tapped
Foodpanda
 to handle the travel app’s food delivery business as both sides embark on a strategic partnership.

According to a statement, this means that AirAsia’s food offerings will transition to a dine-in model.

In August 2021, the travel firm
launched
 its food delivery service in Malaysia and subsequently expanded to Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. In January this year, it reportedly
closed down
 the service in Singapore.

Besides food delivery, AirAsia’s ride-hailing service will be integrated into the Foodpanda app.

The partnership will also explore other collaborations, including payment solutions, joint loyalty programs, and subscription plans, said
Tony Fernandes
, CEO of Capital A, the holding company of AirAsia.

Headquartered in Germany, Foodpanda operates in over 300 cities across 11 markets in Asia Pacific. The company said it has a network of 100,000 merchants and thousands of delivery partners.

See also:
Top Carsome, Capital A execs back events-booking startup

Note: This article was written with the help of AI. Don’t worry, humans were still involved in producing this story.