Korean retailer Shinsegae Group invests in Grab; As per DealStreetAsia sources, the funding has been routed through the group’s newly-formed corporate VC arm Signet Partners; The retailer continues to spot significant opportunities in Grab’s mobile platform adoption. More here
Fast pace of digital adoption spurs Beenext to ramp up early-stage investments in Vietnam; Beenext will target startup that serve industries contributing to VN’s growth story such as industrial development, real estate and consumption themes; It typically invests in the range of US$500K-US$1mn. More here
Why ‘Iron Man’ star Robert Downey Jr. places his bet on Singapore’s RWDC Industries; RWDC develops cost-effective biopolymer material solutions, which are naturally produced by bacterial fermentation of plant-based oils or sugar; To date, the biodegradable plastic startup has raised nearly US$170M from a clutch of investors such as Vickers Venture and Downey’s fund FootPrint Coalition. More here
Transcelestial raises US$2mn from Ayala-backed Kickstart Ventures, enters Philippines; Its Centauri device provides a wireless distribution network between buildings, traditional cell towers, street-level poles and other physical infrastructure; Transcelestial is building what it claims to be a space laser network to “deliver a step-change in internet connectivity globally”. More here
Dole Asia launches US$2mn “Sunshine for All” fund; It’s part of its larger “Dole Promise” initiative launched in 2020; The fund aims to accomplish goals including providing access to sustainable nutrition for 1bn people by 2025, having zero fossil-based plastic packaging by 2025, and net-zero carbon emissions in operations by 2030. More here
Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam have huge potential in APAC for neobank growth: A UnaFinancial study says the 4 SEA countries have approximately the same degree of attractiveness as India and Singapore; Australia is the most attractive country for online banking. More here
China just 55th on e-commerce index due to low internet access; Despite being home to some of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, the country received a lower score than Ukraine and Oman on the latest B2C e-commerce index published on Wednesday, which measures an economy’s online shopping support. More here
Meet the 23 startups accepted into SMU Business Innovations Generator’s maiden programme; An equity-free and industry-agnostic programme, it leans slightly towards digital and sustainable urban technologies; The 4-month-old programme will provide startups with financial support, mentorship, access to community events, masterclasses, the Greenhouse workspace, and credits from corporate partners. More here
Why disaster-tech in Asia holds great potential, and how to scale the field; Despite increasing sophistication in delivering response, relief, and recovery efforts, solutions on the ground are far from reaching their full potential; In assessing funding strategies into disaster assistance, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) and Candid found that only 2% was allocated for building resilience and 4% towards disaster preparedness in 2018. More here
How HappyPlus app is helping corporates measure the happiness index of employees; The Indian startup focuses on creating and developing happy and healthy habits for working professionals; The app has six parameters across which people can rate their happiness — timescale, our being, achievements, relationships, work-life, and meaningfulness. More here
AI social media influencers on the rise in Singapore; The number of virtual influencers on the market is likely still in its double digits compared to real human influencers, but they have already begun competing with human influencers for partnerships with brands. More here
Philippines set to take rare top spot for IPOs in SEA; Investors and bankers say consumer retailers and real estate investment trusts are lining up record fundraisings that could top US$4bn in 2021, more than the combined tally of the last seven years, according to Refinitiv data. More here
Why logistics startup Pickupp built an e-commerce arm to support home-based businesses in S’pore; Pickupp’s flexible delivery windows and handy scheduling feature enable customers to be nimble and capitalise on business opportunities; The startup also uses a hybrid of freelancers and in-house delivery fleet to cater to fluctuating levels of demand. More here
Indonesian tech startups consider going public; Tech companies might see the prospect of going public in Indonesia as a gamble because local retail investors are yet to truly understand the business model of tech companies; By going public, these tech companies can familiarise regulators about their business models to encourage further relaxations for the sector. More here
How Thai VC SCB 10X is helping to build the future of blockchain financial solutions; The firm invests in early-stage startups — up to series C rounds — from all over the world and also helps with building technologies in some cases; It establishes joint ventures and partnerships with selected growth-stage startups as well. More here
Singapore sets aside US$760mn to co-fund digital solutions with businesses; A new Emerging Technology Programme will co-fund the costs of trials and the adoption of frontier technologies such as 5G and AI, which will help companies commercialise their innovations. More here
Indonesian banking regulator says Sea Group’s Shopee has acquired Bank BKE; The aim is to transform it into a digital bank; Shopee has yet to make an official application with the banking regulators to transform Bank BKE into a digital institution, but they are “currently preparing the infrastructure to do so.” More here
Asia’s cloud kitchens expect delivery boom to outlast COVID-19; Cloud kitchens and food deliveries have not only become wildly popular during the pandemic but they have also negated the need for prime locations; Big names like Jollibee Foods, Grab and Central Restaurants Group are making massive investments in the sector. More here
Thai government is banking onbio-, circular and green (BCG) model to propel recovery; Based on Thailand’s strengths in agriculture, rich natural resources and diversity of biological resources and physical geography, the BCG strategy will focus on promoting four industries: farm and food, healthcare and medical services, energy and biochemicals, and tourism and the creative economy. More here
Malaysia set to roll out 5G by the year-end; Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the country will emerge as one of the first in this region to build a 5G ecosystem using Internet and cloud services in real-time to enable instant sharing of information; A total of US$3.7bn will be invested over a period of 10 years for the implementation of 5G nationwide. More here
Personal finance firm CompareAsiaGroup rebrands as Hyphen Group; The personal finance firm also said it tracked an over 80% revenue growth in 2020, driven by over 650K financial product applications; Last year, Hyphen acquired Seedly from Shopback as a measure to capture the millennial demographic. More here
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