Also, Indonesia’s government promises new e-commerce tax won’t burden, and Softbanks invests in South Korea’s car-sharing SoCar

Job seeking platform Glasdoor begins operation in Singapore [Press Release]

The job seeking platform that champions transparency by utilising employee reviews, ratings, with salaries information Glasdoor has announced its entry into Singapore.

In the country. Glassdoor aims to give job seekers a competitive search advantage with its real employees review system. Using Glassdoor, users can customise online job search to discover jobs and take a peek of what it’s really like to work at potential employers.

Glassdoor claimed to be the job platform that combines the latest open jobs with deeper detail into specific jobs at specific companies.

Also Read: Surina Shukri appointed CEO of MDEC

“With increased focus on Singapore, we are looking to make the Glassdoor experience for people and businesses in these locations even more valuable,” said John Lamphiere, Vice President and Managing Director of Glassdoor International.

Wealthtech Singapore Life raises US$13M from Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) [Press Release]

Wealthtech company Singapore Life has announced an amount of US$13 million additional investment in its Series B funding round from the Aberdeen Standard Investment (ASI), that joins in the recent Aflac Investment of US$20m and brings the total capital raised to date to US$97 million.

Singapore Life shared that this funding has set it to begin its expansion plans across Southeast Asia and scale into new business technology ventures over the coming year.

“Singapore Life exemplifies an innovator in providing customers with better financial solutions through advanced technology – and it is an exciting opportunity for us to expand our strategic relationship with this digital life insurance provider and be part of its growth journey,” said Martin Gilbert, Co-Chief Executive, Aberdeen Standard Investments.

Singapore Life is believed to be the fastest growing life insurer in Singapore. It enables experiences that allow for clients to enroll themselves conveniently and securely without the hassle of paperwork.

SoftBank invests U$44M in South Korea’s car-sharing startup SoCar [Deal Street Asia]

Car-sharing startup based in South Korea, SoCar, manages to secure US$44 million (50 billion won) in a new round of funding from Altos Ventures, KB Investment, Stonebridge Ventures, and SoftBank Ventures.

SoCar plans to use the funding to invest in research and development to offer better mobility services through its platform, said a source. The funding is the latest one the company raised after it previously received an investment of US$57 million from local private equity firm IMM Private Equity in April 2018.

SoCar was funded in 2012 and it offers services via website and mobile app. Just in 2018, SoCar launched its services in Malaysia by establishing 120 zones with 240 cars in the country.

Freelancer platform Sampingan secures US$500K seed funding from Golden Gate Ventures [Deal Street Asia]

Indonesia-based freelancer platform Sampingan has reportedly raised US$500,000 from Golden Gate Ventures.

Sampingan, means ‘side-job’ in Indonesian, is a platform that connects businesses with selected and trained freelance agents for easily doable task-based jobs. It plans to use the funding to scale up operations and expand its agent network across Indonesia.

In its pre-seed round, the company raised US$100,000 from startup generator Antler back in September. The available task-based jobs in the platform range from partner and SME acquisitions and real-time data collection to simple commission-based sales jobs.

Indonesian government promises friendly e-commerce tax policy [The Jakarta Post]

Indonesian government releases a statement that ensures all e-commerce businesses to face a friendly new tax regulation.

As of now, online traders are required to report their transactions and tax credentials in a move to improve tax compliance in the country. This policy has sparked criticism from e-commerce players of the Indonesian E-Commerce Association (IdEA), who claimed it might cause small businesses to back out from trading via online platforms, consequently defeating its intended purpose.

Finance Ministry spokesman Nufransa Wira Sakti said that the ministry’s bodies, which is the Fiscal Policy Agency, the Taxation Directorate General and the Customs and Excise Office—had already met with IdEA management and agreed to revise the regulation.

Also Read: Indonesia’s online bill payments Sepulsa rebrands into Alterra

“It is now not mandatory for merchants to show a taxpayer number [NPWP] when they register with an online marketplace,” Nufransa wrote in a statement.
With that being said, trader could simply show their identity card number upon registration.

The new policy is stipulated in Finance Ministery Regulation No. 210/2018, signed by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, effective on December 31 last year. It was initially scheduled to take effect on April 1, but was only communicated to the public last week.
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Photo by Muhammad Haikal Sjukri on Unsplash

The post Today’s tech news, January 16: Glassdoor lands in Singapore, Golden Gate Ventures backs Indonesia’s Sampingan appeared first on e27.