From Amazon’s entry to tech leaders’ market debuts and the region’s biggest investments, here’s the rundown of the top tech news that made a splash in Southeast Asia this year, according to Tech In Asia.
Back-to-back public debuts
Southeast Asia’s startup community kept a close watch on the initial public offerings of PC gear maker Razer and Tencent-owned games company Sea late this year.
Amazon’s grand entrance
Speaking of e-commerce, the sector just got a lot more exciting with US behemoth Amazon now in the picture.
Alibaba’s shopping spree
Jack Ma’s company continued its big push into Southeast Asia, this time leading a $1.1 billion investment in Indonesia’s Tokopedia.
US giant bets on Indonesia
Online travel startup Traveloka’s $350 million funding round led by Expedia.
The first Filipino unicorn
Revolution Precrafted raised its series B round co-led by Singapore’s K2 VC last October, valuing the company at over $1 billion, according to two Tech in Asia sources familiar with the deal.
Uber gets in bed with Singapore’s largest taxi company
Uber signed a deal to sell 51 percent of its car rental unit to ComfortDelgro for $218 million.
Malaysia opens digital free trade zone
In November, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma opened the doors to a free trade zone in Malaysia.
Grab’s massive war chest
Grab’s $2 billion funding round from China’s Didi Chuxing and Masayoshi Son-led Softbank, the single largest financing in the history of Southeast Asia.
The new investment supposedly gave the firm a post-money valuation of over US$6 billion, making it the region’s most valuable startup.
Grab will use the money to tighten its grip on the ride-hailing market in the region and invest in its mobile payments solution, GrabPay.
The company has made GrabPay available to use for payments at hawker center stalls and restaurants in Singapore, marking its biggest move yet outside of the transportation segment.
Source : TechInAsia
