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Today’s top tech news: WeWork further expands in Singapore amidst job cuts, other woes

WeWork further expands in Singapore amidst job cuts [press release]

WeWork today announced the official launch of its new space at 9 Battery Road in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD).

The co-working space operator will also be opening two new locations beyond the city’s traditional CBD at 83 Clemenceau Road and 30 Prinsep Street in December 2019.

WeWork entered the region through the acquisition of Spacemob and its leadership, where the first location at WeWork Beach Centre was opened in December 2017. WeWork plans to have a total of 12 locations in less than two years in Singapore.

The company has been going through a rough patch in the past two weeks and is reportedly planning to fire thousands of people across the world.

Indonesia’s OJK grants new licences to six fintech lenders [DealStreetAsia]

Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) has granted fully business operational licences to six fintech startups as of September this year.

The six startups are Modalku (the Indonesian arm of Funding Societies), KTA Kilat (Pendanaan), Kredit Pintar, Maucash, Finmas (Sinarmas and Oriente-backed fintech firm) and KlikACC.

OJK had previously granted licences to seven fintech startups in August this year to Danamas, Investree, Amartha, Dompet Kilat, KIMO, Toko Modal, and UangTeman.

In total, there are 13 companies granted fully business licences from OJK. So far, there are 127 fintech companies registered under OJK.

E-hailing drivers unhappy with ‘AH’ vehicle code [TheStar]

E-hailing drivers have expressed dissatisfaction with the Transport Ministry’s decision to change their vehicle’s code to ‘AH’, which denotes that it is a “private e-hailing” car.

Ng Kian Nam, representing a group of disgruntled drivers, said although the ministry had clarified this does not change the car’s status to that of a commercial vehicle, it was still a change in category.

On Wednesday (Oct 9), Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the change to the “AH” code is only in the Road Transport Department (JPJ) ‘s MySIKAP system, and will not be reflected in the vehicle’s ownership grant.

“What is the difference if there is a status change in the grant, or just in the MySIKAP system? It is still a change in category.

KK Fund-backed Drivehub looking for regional expansion [press release]

Thailand-based online car rental marketplace Drivehub has reached breakeven and is looking to expand service into other Southeast Asia markets.

Started in 2017, Drivehub connects thousands of rental vehicles from nationwide (such as Hertz, National, Sixt) and local car rental providers with potential renters. Since then, it has expanded its presence into 33 locations over Thailand.  

The startup is backed by KK Fund.

 

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