Tag: Market expansion

Thailand – ONE Championship (ONE), the global martial arts and combat sports organisation, has announced the relocation of its global production hub from Singapore to Bangkok, Thailand, as part of its ongoing strategic expansion.

With the relocation, Bangkok will now serve as ONE’s primary production base for global content delivery. The shift is aimed at centralising production and supporting the company’s growing content operations.

Bangkok has gained operational significance for ONE in recent years, largely due to the regular staging of ONE Friday Fights at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. These events are broadcast to 195 countries during Asia primetime hours, and their scale and consistency have made Thailand a practical choice for production consolidation.

The company has also increasingly integrated AI-powered tools across its global content platforms to enhance efficiency and streamline operations.

ONE said the decision is supported by a Nielsen study estimating that the organisation contributes more than US$470 million in annual economic impact to Thailand, underscoring the broader significance of its events to the local sports and tourism sectors.

ONE’s global corporate headquarters will remain in Singapore, housing its senior leadership, investor relations, and strategic planning teams. The company also retains its domicile in the Cayman Islands, where it re-registered as part of its long-term capital and corporate structuring strategy.

Chatri Sityodtong, chairman and CEO of ONE, said, “Thailand has played a key role in our global production efforts over the past two and a half years. As we scale our operations, this move allows us to centralise production and improve coordination while continuing to grow our event and content output.”

“This is a step forward in our evolution as a global sports media property,” added Sityodtong. “We remain committed to Singapore while reallocating resources to where it makes the most operational sense,” Chatri added. 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Viddsee has announced its continued Southeast Asia expansion with the appointment of Jay Murali as group business director to lead its entry into the Malaysian market. 

This expansion follows the recent launch of Viddsee’s operations in Thailand, led by industry veteran Venus Romsaitong, signaling the company’s growing footprint in the region and its commitment to offering integrated marketing solutions across key ASEAN markets. 

In his role as group business director, Jay will be responsible for overseeing the business development strategy, client servicing, and partnership building in Malaysia. He will also play a regional role, working closely with the leadership team to align growth initiatives across Viddsee’s Southeast Asian markets. 

Jay brings over 20 years of experience in advertising, digital marketing, branding, and business development. He has led multiple campaigns and built high-performing strategies for top-tier brands including Cetaphil Malaysia, Astro, Heineken, Air Selangor, Malaysia Airlines, Khazanah Malaysia, and Tony Roma’s. 

With expertise in client acquisition, strategic partnerships, and multi-channel execution, Jay is well-positioned to grow Viddsee’s presence and impact in Malaysia. 

Ho Jia Jian, CEO and founder of Viddsee, said, “Our vision is to be the go-to creative and marketing partner for brands in Asia. Malaysia is a key market in that journey. Following our expansion in Thailand, we’re excited to welcome Jay onboard to deepen our regional offering and continue building campaigns that resonate with local audiences while delivering measurable impact.”

Meanwhile, Christopher Cumming, managing director for Southeast Asia at Viddsee, commented, “Jay’s strategic thinking, leadership, and deep understanding of the Malaysian marketing landscape make him the right person to lead our growth here. His appointment strengthens our ability to deliver truly integrated, integrated marketing solutions that combine storytelling, media, and data to drive real business outcomes for brands.”

Hong Kong – Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is reportedly set to expand into the Hong Kong market with the launch of its offline flagship store, ‘JD Mall,’ offering an immersive retail experience.

According to a report by local media Ming Pao, JD Mall in Hong Kong is expected to mirror its mainland China counterpart, with a primary focus on home appliances.

Ming Pao also cited sources revealing that since the fourth quarter of last year, JD.com has been actively recruiting employees, offering high salaries to attract talent from Hong Kong’s electrical appliance retail industry as part of its plan to establish physical stores in the city.

Additionally, the report stated that JD Property Development, a subsidiary of JD.com, acquired the entire Li Fung Centre in Sha Tin last year. Meanwhile, related companies have moved into Jardine House in Central, signalling preparations for JD.com’s entry into the Hong Kong market.

Ming Pao also reported that JD.com’s subsidiary, Beijing Jingdong 360 Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd., applied for the trademarks of its instant delivery brands in Hong Kong last December. However, JD.com stated to the local media that there are currently no plans to develop ‘Dada,’ ‘Seconds Delivery,’ or related food delivery services in Hong Kong.

JD.com’s reported entry into Hong Kong comes after Alibaba’s Taobao Hong Kong launched its first furniture and home goods store in Tsim Sha Tsui, signalling a growing push by major mainland e-commerce giants into the city’s market.

India – Tealive, the milk tea brand under Loob Holding, is entering India following a master franchise deal with Indian quick service restaurant (QSR) operator Devyani International Limited (DIL). 

With over 950 outlets in Southeast Asia, Mauritius, Canada, and most recently the Middle East, Tealive now looks to bring its unique blend of tea and innovative beverage culture to India.

For both entities, India offers a vast market opportunity for lifestyle tea, particularly among its youthful demographic. This positions Tealive strategically, leveraging its strong brand identity and Southeast Asian influence. Although the Indian tea market is dominated by local brands and independent outlets, Tealive’s diverse menu and innovative selections are well-suited to meet the changing tastes of consumers.

Bryan Loo, founder and CEO at Loob Holding expressed confidence that DIL’s expansive network and F&B expertise would provide a solid foundation for Tealive to grow in India.

“Together with our partner, Tealive will bring our innovative lifestyle tea culture to the land of chai. Our partner knows the local market well and we’re planning significant presence in India, beginning with outlets in the major cities this year,” he said.

He also emphasised that Tealive would continue its current regional strategy of starting small and scaling up fast with the right market conditions. “With our partners’ local knowledge, industry experience, and extensive reach, we are well-positioned to rapidly expand and promote our unique lifestyle tea culture across India,” he said.

Bryan also added, “Partnering with a strong local operator like DIL gives us the ability to adapt and thrive in India while also extending the Tealive lifestyle to millions of new consumers.”

Meanwhile, Ravi Jaipuria, non-executive chairman at Devyani International Limited, commented, “We are delighted to introduce Tealive, a strong Asian brand, into India, known to have a rich tradition of chai culture. Tealive’s diverse lifestyle tea offerings perfectly align with India’s young and evolving consumer, who are increasingly drawn towards newer categories. Together, we are set to redefine and transform tea experience in the vibrant Indian market.”

DIL is the largest franchise partner for Yum! Brands in India, managing KFC and Pizza Hut locations, and serves as the exclusive franchisee for Costa Coffee in the country. Alongside these global brands, DIL has developed its own homegrown concepts, including Vaango, a well-known South Indian vegetarian restaurant, and The Food Street, a multi-cuisine food court.

Singapore – Hamburg-based adtech firm adjoe has announced its expansion into the APAC region, with new offices established in Singapore and Tokyo. The move signals adjoe’s commitment to  high-potential markets for mobile gaming and advertising like China, Japan, and South Korea.

To spearhead this regional growth, adjoe has onboarded seasoned leaders with deep expertise in the APAC adtech and mobile app ecosystem; namely Eileen Keng as vice president of revenue, Daisuke Hattori as country manager for Japan, Satoshi Takeuchi as senior supply partnerships manager for Japan, Vincent Zhang as senior demand partnership manager for Greater China, and Hyemin Han as senior supply partnerships manager for South Korea.

This expansion builds on adjoe’s strong growth since its €100 million funding round in 2022, backed by Bertelsmann, which enabled milestones like launching US operations in 2023 and expanding into APAC in 2024. 

By onboarding key players in the app space, adjoe has cemented its position as a global leader in mobile advertising, with the APAC region offering significant growth opportunities through its thriving mobile gaming and app ecosystems.

Jonas Thiemann, co-founder at adjoe, said, “Expanding into APAC is an exciting milestone for adjoe, as the region generates over 50% of global mobile gaming revenue and leads in advertising innovation. “With solutions like Playtime, we aim to boost engagement and retention for our partners, helping them tap into this thriving market. Backed by our innovative approach and experienced APAC team, we are ready to make a strong impact on the mobile adtech industry.”

At the core of adjoe’s product suite is Playtime, a rewarded ad solution that distinguishes itself through an arcade-style integration within non-gaming apps. By rewarding users with the host app’s currency and benefits for engaging with recommended mobile games, Playtime fosters motivated, prolonged user engagement for both the host app and the featured games. 

Meanwhile, game developers benefit from incremental user acquisition at scale, thanks to adjoe’s advanced algorithmic approach, which delivers higher-than-average IPM and sustained player engagement across competitive markets like APAC.

adjoe works with clients like Fetch, ShopBack, yuu Rewards Club, and Green Ponta Action. These partnerships underline adjoe’s ability to collaborate with major players across diverse markets, driving growth and innovation for its partners through unique and effective advertising solutions.

Australia – Braze has announced the launch of its new Sydney data centre and ANZ headquarters, underscoring its deepening commitment to the Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) market. These strategic investments aim to help companies navigate evolving privacy regulations and enhance customer connections.

ANZ has become a priority market for Braze—its fastest-growing region in APAC—thanks to successful partnerships with brands including Wesfarmers, Canva, REA Group, David Jones, and Cashrewards.

Since its acquisition of local reseller NorthStar in June 2023, Braze has seen robust growth in the region, driven by increased demand for improved data security, and customer engagement solutions. The new data centre and headquarters further bolster Braze’s ability to support Australian businesses as they adapt to changes in privacy and data management.

For the company’s new headquarters, the expansion follows the scaling of its ANZ-based team to 70 professionals across Melbourne, Queensland, and Sydney. The move reinforces Braze’s long-term commitment to the ANZ market and its plans to drive continuous growth and innovation in the region.

Meanwhile, the newly-launched Sydney-based data centre—hosted on AWS—will provide customers with the flexibility needed to align with any internal policies, business needs, or data residency requirements they may have. The facility empowers brands to take control of their data, reduce risk, and build customer trust by storing information locally and following best practices. 

Built for high capacity and robust performance, the centre offers local data storage and high performance, real-time data processing for customers with one to hundreds of millions of users. By keeping customer data within Australia, organisations can better align with consumer expectations around data privacy and sovereignty, while enhancing their engagement strategies.

Lewis Barnes, general manager for Australia and senior director of customer success at Braze, said, “Australia stands at the forefront of digital innovation and evolving privacy standards. Our new Sydney data centre and ANZ headquarters are a direct response to the unique needs of the Australian market.”

He added, “We’re not only providing the robust, local infrastructure that can support data sovereignty, but we’re also empowering our clients to drive customer engagement and growth in an increasingly competitive landscape. Our investment here underscores our belief in Australia’s potential and our commitment to supporting its digital transformation.”

Meanwhile, Shahid Nizami, vice president for Asia Pacific & GCC at Braze, commented, “The launch of our new data center in Australia is a major milestone for Braze and a testament to our strong commitment to the Australian market. Australia is a key player in our APAC operations, and we’re dedicated to providing our Australian customers with the best possible experience.”

He added, “This data center should enhance performance, support data sovereignty, and enable us to better serve the growing demand for our customer engagement platform in the region. We’re excited to continue investing in Australia and empowering our customers to build stronger connections with their audiences.”

Indonesia – Databricks has announced its entry into the Indonesian market as part of a broader strategy to expand its presence in the ASEAN region, driven by over 70% annualised growth over the past three years.

Databricks’ entry into Indonesia marks a key step in expanding its presence in the ASEAN region. This move aims to help more Indonesian businesses unlock the full potential of their data and AI capabilities.

As part of its entry into Indonesia, Databricks has strengthened its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). This collaboration will make the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform available in the AWS Asia Pacific (Jakarta) Region through AWS Marketplace, starting in early 2025.

Indonesian businesses can now harness advanced features like faster custom model development using Databricks Mosaic AI on AWS Trainium chips. This enables them to pretrain, fine-tune, and deploy large language models (LLMs) on their own data with better cost efficiency. Enhanced AWS Marketplace integrations also make it easier to adopt Databricks, allowing companies to scale generative AI applications while retaining full control over their data and intellectual property.

“We’re thrilled to support Databricks’ expansion into Indonesia, which reinforces AWS’s IDR$71 trillion investment in the AWS Asia Pacific (Jakarta) Region. By building the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform exclusively on AWS in Indonesia, we are committed to supporting Databricks and our joint customers to securely manage data locally and drive digital and AI innovation that addresses industry needs,” said Kirsten Gilbertson, head for partner management for ASEAN at AWS.

Meanwhile, Cecily Ng, vice president and general manager of ASEAN and Greater China at Databricks, shared, “We’re excited to bring the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to Indonesia by leveraging the reliability, scalability, agility, and security of AWS. This expansion reflects our commitment to not only deepen our footprint in the region but also help Indonesian enterprises unlock the full potential of their data through advanced analytics and AI-driven insights, enabling them to transform their businesses in an increasingly digital economy.” 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – South Korean bakery-café chain TOUS les JOURS is set to re-enter the Malaysian market, made possible by a partnership by its parent company CJ Foodville and retail and e-commerce group Stream Empire Holdings. 

The first branch will be opening in the second quarter at Sunway Pyramid Mall, with a second one planned for Sunway Velocity Mall. 

TOUS les JOURS first entered in Malaysia in June 2013 but exited in 2017, closing its four stores back then.

CJ Foodville stated plans to utilise its thriving TOUS les JOURS operations and established supply chain in neighbouring Indonesia to support its expansion into Malaysia, which it views as a key strategic hub for driving further growth in Southeast Asia.

TOUS les JOURS first entered the Indonesian market in 2011 and established a halal-certified production facility there in 2019. By 2023, the brand had grown to over 70 outlets in Indonesia, achieving a 20% year-on-year increase in sales and a 27% year-on-year rise in operating profit.

“We plan to establish TOUS les JOURS as a healthy and fresh premium bakery brand in Malaysia and accelerate our expansion into Southeast Asia. We will create strong synergy effects by utilising our successful business foundation in Indonesia and the infrastructure of our local partner in Malaysia,” a CJ Foodville spokesperson said. 

Alongside South Korea and Indonesia, TOUS les JOURS’ East Asia network also comprises stores in China, Vietnam, Singapore, Mongolia and Cambodia. 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Malaysian coffee chain Oriental Kopi is set to raise approximately $40.9m through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Bursa Malaysia Ace Market this month.

A portion of the funds, amounting to $8m, will be allocated to expanding the brand’s footprint with plans to open 13 new outlets across Malaysia and two in Singapore this year. 

Another $12m will go toward developing a new head office, central kitchen, and warehouse in Selangor. Moreover, $444k will go to set up an additional 4 specialty retail stores in the central region of Peninsular Malaysia and Johor, $666k for the marketing expenses for its brands of packaged foods segment in Malaysia, and US$1.2m for marketing expenses in foreign countries.

Established in 2020, Oriental Kopi currently operates 20 cafes in Malaysia and one in Singapore. Among its signature offerings are Oriental Coffee, Signature Egg Tart, Nasi Lemak, Mee Siam, Nanyang Curry Chicken Rice, and Chicken Hor Fun.

Manila, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has welcomed the recent expansion of the ‘niko and…’ fashion brand, which is part of Japanese retailer Adastria, to the Philippines. 

The store’s opening marks a significant milestone in Adastria’s strategic international expansion, and highlights the Philippines’ growing appeal as a retail investment destination.

To facilitate its entry into the Philippines, Adastria formed a joint venture with the Primer Group of Companies. This venture was established with an initial capitalization of PHP160m (US$2.85m). It sees Adastria holding a 75% stake and Primer the remaining 25%. 

This partnership ensures the seamless integration of Adastria’s global brand management standards with Primer’s extensive local market expertise.

Adastria has emphasised the significance of the Philippine market for the company’s Southeast Asia expansion, which is driven by the country’s young demographic, growing fashion consciousness, and increasing disposable income. 

With the support of PTIC Tokyo and Primer Group, Adastria is poised to deliver an exceptional retail and e-commerce experience tailored to Filipino consumers.

“Adastria’s entry into the Philippine market marks a significant milestone in the evolving Philippine-Japanese partnership in the lifestyle and retail sectors. It stands as a prime example of how collaborative efforts between government initiatives and private sector dynamism can lead to mutually beneficial outcomes—fostering economic growth, enhancing consumer options, and driving innovation across industries,” said Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina A. Roque.

Meanwhile, Commercial Counselor and Special Trade Representative Dita Angara-Mathay shared that Adastria has plans to expand its footprint in the Philippines by opening more “niko and…” stores and strengthening its omnichannel presence. This strategy combines the immersive experience of brick-and-mortar retail with the convenience and reach of e-commerce to ensure a seamless and engaging customer journey.