Tag: Expansion

Singapore — The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced that the league will expand its presence in Asia-Pacific by opening an office in Singapore.

The Singapore studio joins the league’s Manila and Mumbai offices in reporting to NBA Asia managing director Scott Levy based in Hong Kong and will expand the league’s existing efforts in the region, such as live game distribution, youth development programming, interactive fan events, merchandise sales and social responsibility efforts.

NBA games and programming reach fans in the region through the league’s 20 media partners that span 11 countries and territories and eight languages.  NBA League Pass, the league’s premium live game subscription service, has recorded double-digit subscriber growth in the region over the last three seasons.  The league also has more than 35 million followers on social media across the region.

The prominent league has staged 17 preseason and regular-season games in the region, most recently in 2019 when the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors played two preseason games in Tokyo, Japan. In 2013, the Rockets and Indiana Pacers played their preseason basketball game in Manila, Philippines.

On the expansion to Singapore, Levy said that ver the past two decades, Asia-Pacific has proven to be a major growth region for the NBA.

“Opening an office in Singapore reflects the enormous opportunities to build on that positive momentum by working more closely with our valued partners and bringing our passionate fans in the region closer to their favourite NBA teams and players,” Levy commented.

Since 2007, the NBA has engaged more than 40 million boys and girls across the region through the Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball program.  Meanwhile, the Jr. NBA Coaches Academy program that aims to teach trainers how the sport should be coached has reached more than 88,000 teachers across seven countries regionwide.

With the opening of the Singapore office, the NBA adds another studio to its current 15 markets worldwide.

Kula Lumpur, Malaysia – Financial wellbeing platform Payd has announced that it has raised USD 1.7 million (RM7.5 million) in a seed funding round to expand its Southeast Asian operations, fuelling the growth of the region’s financial tech market. The round was led by IFS Capital Limited, The Hive Southeast Asia, Delight Capital, and Antler.

Payd aims to build a mobile financial wellness platform for employees in Southeast Asia. In order to achieve this, the company plans to use the money it has set aside to promote its brand, expand its workforce in order to speed up product development, and introduce new products and services in the near future. Additionally, ‘angel investors’ participated in the funding round.

Commenting on the funding, Justin Kong, co-founder and CEO of Payd, shared, “This funding exercise is a watershed moment for Payd. We are grateful for our partners’ trust and confidence as we continue to build and launch Payd. In the long run, we hope to be a platform that eases the financial worries of the Malaysian workforce, helping build a better engagement between employers and employees.”

To date, Payd has garnered over 20,000 employee sign-ups, and has witnessed an increase in enrollment rates of up to 25%. This mirrors the consistent success of the brand since its inception, Payd has been experiencing a growth of 120 to 180% month-on-month since July 2021, as more Malaysian businesses are now choosing to provide earned wage access (EWA) benefits to their employees.

Renchun Zeng, chief executive officer of IFS Capital Limited, said that they are excited for the opportunity to invest in Payd and deliver EWA solutions to the Southeast Asian market. 

“Large and middle-market corporations can consider a well-structured EWA program as an integral pillar of the employee benefits framework. By empowering financial well-being of their employees, it can positively impact worker productivity, promote retention, and reduce absenteeism, resolving some of employers’ biggest pain points. This service is in line with IFS Capital’s goal of empowering businesses with access to capital through simple and affordable solutions,” Zeng said.

Singapore – SevenRooms, a guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, has now expanded to Singapore and Hong Kong. The local team will be led by Paul Hadida, SevenRooms’ general manager for APAC, who has over a decade of hospitality industry experience and has led the platform’s rapid expansion in Australia over the last 18 months.

SevenRooms’ CRM-driven platform includes a reservation, waitlist and table management, online ordering, contactless order and pay, review aggregation, and marketing automation. It empowers operators to create meaningful and personal guest relationships both on- and off-premise that maximise profits, incentivise loyalty, and cultivate exceptional experiences at every interaction, from acquiring to engaging and retaining more customers.

The expansion will see SevenRooms significantly ramping its on-the-ground presence in Hong Kong and Singapore with the hiring of sales and customer success roles. The company is currently recruiting heavily across the region, with 11% of the company’s total global roles for 2022 expected for APAC. This will account for a 120% increase in the number of SevenRooms employees across Singapore and Hong Kong. Moreover, SevenRooms will continue to build out integrations across the region over the coming months.

Hadida noted that this is a significant milestone in the platform’s mission to revolutionise the way the global hospitality industry provides exceptional guest experiences.

“We’ve grown organically in the region over the last few years, with 1-Group, Jigger & Pony, and Wine Connection amongst our existing local customers. The timing of our launch is very significant. Restrictions are easing at different rates, and while challenges remain, there is excitement about what the future holds. Our mission is to help operators – big and small, new and established – rebuild by creating the data-driven foundations that incentivise loyalty, boost revenue and build meaningful guest relationships.”

Meanwhile, Joel Montaniel, SevenRooms’ CEO, commented that they are delighted to officially launch SevenRooms in Singapore and Hong Kong, empowering operators as they enter a new era for post-pandemic hospitality. 

He further shared that these cities are two of the hospitality capitals of the world, offering a diverse array of restaurants known for their culinary excellence and incredible guest experiences. 

“After two incredibly challenging years, we are helping the local industry return to its former glory. Through the opening of our local office, in addition to the planned expansion of our on-the-ground team, we are supporting the local hospitality sector, helping operators discover new ways to adapt and drive growth in an ever-evolving, competitive market,” said Montaniel.

Vietnam – Digital assets exchange CoinW has announced its expansion to Vietnam. Through this, the company will be bringing more than 10 million USDT rewards to its Vietnamese users, which can be obtained from the activities of doing registrations, friend invitations, and transactions.

CoinW said that it has also launched a Vietnamese language package version to make transactions more convenient for Vietnamese users. Moreover, the Vietnamese Dong (VND) OTC transaction feature will also be opened soon, enabling users to use VND to exchange cryptocurrencies on the platform.

Mingguo Bai, CoinW’s CEO, shared that in recent years, a large number of encrypted projects and technical teams, such as Axie Infinity and Coin98, have emerged in the global encryption industry. 

“It is a great pleasure to bring the products and services to Vietnam. CoinW will provide a safe, stable, and fast cryptocurrency channel for local cryptocurrency users, and ensure the security of user transactions in multiple dimensions,” said Bai.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – A year after its inception, the airasia Super App celebrates its e-hailing arm, airasia ride, as it has completed one million rides in less than a year. This quarter, airasia ride will be expanding to Thailand, followed by Indonesia and the Philippines in the following quarters.

During the past eight months, airasia ride has grown to 10 Malaysian cities, including the Klang Valley, Penang, Ipoh, Seremban, Melaka, Johor Bahru, Alor Setar, Kota Bharu, and Kuala Terengganu, while introducing community driver features such as the LadiesOnly ride.

The company also revealed an additional UNLIMITED 90 percent discounts on AirAsia flights for its drivers who maintain the ‘Captain’ rank for three consecutive months will automatically be eligible for this unique perk for six months upon entitlement.This perks will allow them to fly anywhere on the AirAsia network with 90 percent off the base fare for any flights. 

On top of that, drivers take 85% of the net fares (excluding toll charges), higher than other e-hailing providers in the market, making it a viable part-time job option and side income opportunity. Fares on airasia ride are set based on fair pricing, which takes into consideration what our guests can afford while still compensating for any extra travel time caused by heavy traffic. The latest feature on airasia ride, LadiesOnly, also aims to empower women with more working opportunities in the e-hailing space.

Additionally, airasia ride is also inviting all new and existing airasia ride users to join in the celebration by offering an exclusive, limited time Free Rides on 28 April 2022 from 10am- 12pm, 2pm – 4pm, and 8pm-10pm. 

Lim Chiew Shan, regional CEO of airasia ride, said that they would like to thank each and every Allstar in airasia ride for pushing hard and making today’s milestone happen. When they started back in August last year and in the midst of the pandemic too, they were quietly optimistic that airasia ride will take off to a good start. One million rides completed in the span of less than a year would not have been possible without the dedication of their drivers, and therefore they would also like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude with a brand new perk for their drivers. 

“The AirAsia unlimited 90% airline discount perk is definitely apt, as it will enable the drivers to explore all the destinations within the vast AirAsia network and also experience the whole airasia Super App ecosystem themselves. For example, a flight from KL – Bali on AirAsia’s ID90 scheme will only cost RM90 one way, and flights to domestic destinations such as Penang are only RM30. They are able to utilise this for as many times as they prefer in the six months period,” Shan said.

Meanwhile, he added,“Furthermore, airasia ride has also contributed to around 20% of new users of the airasia Super App since its establishment last August, which is quite impressive given that we’re only present in Malaysia currently. With the much anticipated expansion across Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines for the rest of this year, we are sure that airasia ride will also replicate this same success in those markets, and help drivers have better insights on travellers’ preferences and more by expanding our footprint across airports in the country and the rest of the region.” 

To better serve passengers heading to and from the airport, airasia ride drivers will have the added benefit of working with one of Asia’s airline brands. Guests on AirAsia flights now have the option of booking their rides upon purchasing their flights, allowing drivers to secure more jobs in advance and can plan their trips more efficiently and productively. Drivers will also have access to real-time information on passenger arrivals, allowing them to better manage their time and maximize their revenues by reducing waiting time and making more trips.

Singapore – Smart commerce platform SHOPLINE has announced its global expansion by establishing a headquarters in Singapore. The selection of Singapore as the new global headquarters for SHOPLINE was a unanimous decision among its senior leadership.

The company said that the expansion was strategically based on location and the connectivity of Singapore which makes it ideal for a global hub. Coupled with Singapore’s Government efforts in establishing a reliable and efficient infrastructure, as well as a conducive and pro-business environment.

In the coming months, SHOPLINE is expected to expand its global support and capabilities to bolster its existing 1600-strong R&D team by recruiting more diverse talent in Singapore. This aims to bump up the workforce in Singapore and bring the SHOPLINE solution to address broader e-Commerce verticals in the market, all while continuing to further collaborate with the Singapore Government to digitize the nation.

SHOPLINE’S goal is to build a successful partner ecosystem that merchants can leverage on, SHOPLINE has partnered with key global strategic partners including Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp), Tiktok and Google, and Payments and Fulfilments Partners including Paypal, Atome, Stripe, Ninja Van, HyperSKU and Kakaklo, in the bid to strengthen the platform capabilities of SHOPLINE to one that is truly seamless and omni-channel.

Joshua Qiao, general manager of SHOPLINE 2.0, said that the growing demands of business owners for a centralized e-Commerce system and the need to build their own database fueled SHOPLINE to innovate, differentiate and lead the digital disruption through their platform, unique positioning, deep understanding of what their merchants need and localization efforts.

“The future of e-commerce lies in SHOPLINE’s disruptive approach in offering a full-featured all-in-one retail solutions platform. In collaboration with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), SHOPLINE is humbled to be a pre-approved Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) vendor that enables merchants to enjoy up to 70% of subsidy from their annual subscription costs, sharing and contributing to the actualisation of the Singapore Government’s vision to digitalize the economy and create a smart nation,” Qiao said.

With an overwhelming response from Singaporean merchants and reputable businesses from a wide variety of industries, SHOPLINE is confident and geared for a successful official launch later this year.

Singapore – Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy that integrates strategy, design and engineering to drive digital innovation, has expanded its business to Vietnam, with the opening of an office in Ho Chi Minh City in mid-2022.

The expansion in Vietnam reflects Thoughtworks’ wider effort to geographically diversify its business and meet service demand from clients in SEA and Australia. It also aims to increase the company’s ability to hire from this skilled, diverse talent base and welcoming business environment.

Through this, Thoughtworks will be creating new jobs, developing local talent, and building thought leadership on digital transformation, cloud, platforms, data and artificial intelligence, and customer experience, as well as product and design.

Wen Shun Wong, Thoughtworks’ managing director for SEA, shared that this expansion will provide wider collaboration potential between their clients, partners, and employees, and strengthen the availability and supply of premium services for their clients in APAC. 

“This strategic move will also allow us to leverage a new community of talent who will help us further innovate and deliver extraordinary impact for our clients,” said Wong.

Singapore – Involve Asia, a MarTech platform for partnership marketing in Southeast Asia, has expanded to Vietnam, marking its growing footprint in the region. 

Involve Asia, which was founded in 2014, has worked closely with e-commerce, travel, and financial services companies to handle their digital marketing campaigns across Southeast Asia. Involve Asia, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has a presence in six countries in Southeast Asia and is backed by venture capital firms Accord Ventures, OSK Ventures International, and GDP Venture, among others.

Marketing partners in Vietnam face lengthy payment processes while working for marketers, and this is what Involve Asia aims to solve. From 60 to 90 days. using Involve’s proprietary risk assessment algorithm, advertisers are able to identify and eliminate fraudulent actions, resulting in faster payment of legitimate results. Because of Involve’s express withdrawal capabilities, marketing partners may manage their cashflows and build up their operations in as little as 15 days.

Jimmy How, CEO and Founder of Involve Asia, said that Vietnam is an important market for Involve Asia as it is one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia with a vibrant and technologically savvy population. 

‘With an e-commerce market in the country that is accelerating rapidly and high social media usage, it presents a ripe opportunity for us to help brands in the country reach their customers through our proprietary MarTech solution in a cost-efficient manner, and ultimately scale their business through partnerships with influencers, apps and affiliate sites,” How said.

How added, “We are looking to expand our footprint in the region by helping advertisers grow and manage their marketing partnerships more efficiently. One of the ways we plan to do this is to enable Advertisers to leverage our risk scoring system to ensure that their marketing partners get paid quicker, without having to hire additional operational staff as their marketing partnerships scale.”

Hanoi, Vietnam – With the recent reopening of Vietnam’s borders, multinational hotel and lodging company Marriott International has expanded its portfolio in the country. This expansion aims to add nearly 9,000 rooms to the company’s portfolio and see the debut of key brands.

Through this expansion, Marriott’s global brand Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is expected to make its debut in several new destinations across Vietnam, including on the Emerald Island of Phu Quoc, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay, the ‘City of Eternal Springs’ Dalat, and the shores of Binh Chau. A stylish new Renaissance Hotels is also planned to open in the seafront city of Danang, whilst Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts plans to debut in Danang and Cam Ranh. Moreover, the flagship Marriott Hotels brand is expected to debut in Hanoi, and Hoi An, whilst the Westin – the company’s wellness brand – is expected to open in Hanoi and Cam Ranh. Marriott Executive Apartments, the longer-stay brand, is also slated to start welcoming guests in Danang.

Meanwhile, Marriott’s select service portfolio will be providing a range of offerings for both domestic and international travellers. Fairfield by Marriott is slated to be introduced in locations such as Vinh Yen, Ha Long, and Hanoi, whilst several Courtyard by Marriott hotels are expected to open across Danang, Ha Long, and Nha Trang. In addition, Marriott’s The Ritz-Carlton Residences is expected to make its debut in Vietnam in 2024.

Rajeev Menon, Marriott International’s president for APAC (excluding Greater China), commented, “Our growth in Vietnam reflects the trust our local owners and franchisees continue to have in Marriott International, and we look forward to presenting them with opportunities to leverage our comprehensive portfolio of 30 brands, as well as our strong distribution network.”

Meanwhile, Jakob Helgen, Marriott International’s area vice president for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, noted that Vietnam is a vibrant destination and has over the years experienced record levels of tourism as international travellers flocked to the country and domestic travellers began to discover the many wonders available in their own backyard.

“With the recent reopening of borders, we are hopeful for Vietnam to rebound rapidly, and we are excited to expand across even more parts of this captivating country,” said Helgen.

Singapore – Global banking software-as-a-service (SaaS) company Pismo has expanded to Southeast Asia with a new office in Singapore. As part of its expansion, the company has also partnered with OneConnect Financial Technology Co. (OneConnect), the technology-as-a-service (TaaS) provider and an associate of Ping An Group, in order to expand its operations in the said region, as well as in the Middle East.

Through this new partnership, OneConnect’s current suite of cutting-edge technological solutions will be complemented with Pismo’s SaaS platform in order to better serve a broader range of financial institutions.

Moreover, the partnership with Pismo will enable OneConnect to offer SaaS-based core banking solutions suitable for smaller banks. This potentially allows for integration within OneConnect’s existing products, such as its anti-fraud engines and mobile banking applications, which previously targeted top incumbent and large banks looking to digitalise.

Vishal Dalal, Pismo’s CEO for North America, Europe, and Asia, shared that SEA and the Middle East are key markets for Pismo, as one of the highest growing economies in the world

“Our vision is to help banks and fintech [platforms] in their journey into BaaS and cloud for core processing. Our presence in Singapore and our partnership with a highly-accomplished institution like OneConnect underlines our deep commitment to this region,” said Dalal.

Meanwhile, Tan Bin Ru, OneConnect’s CEO for SEA, noted that as a financial technology solutions provider, they are constantly looking out for new technologies and ways for them to bring better value to financial institutions.

“With this partnership with Pismo, we are glad to be able to extend our range of services to now include SaaS, which we envision to be more accessible and implementable for mid-to small-sized banks. This is also where we believe we can bring together the best of the East – best-in-class AI innovations and technology – and the West – a flair in product engineering,” she said.