We also have updates from the Chinese government, Market Kurly, and the Indonesian central bank
Go-Jek becomes Indonesia’s first ‘decacorn’ company – e27
A listing by CBInsights has put Indonesian ride-hailing giant Go-Jek in the decacorn list for having over US$10 billion valuation.
As the first Indonesian company to achieve this status, Go-Jek is in 19th position on the list, just below its bigger rival Grab, which is valued over US$11 billion.
Their global competitor Uber is on the top, with a valuation of over US$72 billion.
The company has not commented on the report.
China recognises 13 new tech jobs – South China Morning Post
China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Wednesday published a list of 13 new job titles in the tech sector, South China Morning Post reported.
The job titles include professional gamers, drone pilots, robotics operators and software engineers in areas like AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and cloud computing.
The new additions were approved on April 1 by three government bodies, following a draft notice seeking public opinions in January. It marks the first time since 2015 that authorities have included new jobs into a list of nearly 19,000 official professions in China.
While not conferring any direct financial benefit, being added to the list does signal that such professions could receive more government support such as vocational training and regulatory protection.
Also Read: The Philippines rejects Go-Jek’s appeal for ride-hailing licence
South Korea’s Market Kurly raises US$88M in Series D funding round – Dealstreet Asia
Kurly Inc., the South Korean company behind online premium grocery service Market Kurly, has raised a KRW100 billion (US$88 million) Series D funding round led by existing investors and international investor Global Venture Partners, Dealstreet Asia wrote.
Existing investor Sequoia China also participated in the funding round.
“With this latest investment, we can secure internal processes and build a talent pool so that we can continue to increase our grocery market share, while maintaining quality,” said CEO Sophie Kim.
Launched in May 2015, Market Kurly offers what is claimed to be “the fastest and freshest delivery system” available to consumers in the market. All orders placed by 11AM are delivered by 7AM the next day, including fresh produce harvested in that same day.
Indonesia performs second test for QR code standardisation – Tirto
The Indonesian central bank has begun the second test for a nation-wide QR code standardisation this month, following a first test that was run between September and November 2018, Tirto reported.
“In this second stage, we are testing dispute [resolution]. For example, what happens when the fee has been transferred but the merchants fail to receive it. Also how transactions are being run in blank spot areas,” said Ricky Satria, deputy director of payments system policy and monitoring at the central bank.
The nation-wide programme, which is referred as QR Indonesia Standard (QRIS), aims to expand interconnectivity in order to support digital finances.
Satria gave an example of LinkAja users being able to transact on Go-Jek ecosystem once the standardisation is finalised on the second semester of 2019.
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Image Credit: Boudewijn Huysmans on Unsplash
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