Tag: Monopoly

Indonesia – Indonesia’s antitrust agency has reportedly fined Google approximately 202 billion rupiah ($12.4 million) for engaging in unfair business practices concerning its payment system for the Google Play Store.

According to a Reuters report, the agency began investigating Alphabet Inc.’s Google in 2022 over allegations of abusing its dominant position by mandating Indonesian app developers to use Google Play Billing at higher rates than other payment systems, under the threat of removal from the Google Play Store.

The panel disclosed that the agency concluded Google had levied fees of up to 30% through its Google Play Billing system. 

The panel further stated that Google’s practices reduced developers’ earnings by driving away users and concluded that the company violated Indonesia’s anti-monopoly laws. The agency also highlighted that Google holds a commanding 93% market share in the country of 280 million people. 

A Google spokesperson stated that the company intends to appeal the ruling, emphasising its commitment to complying with Indonesian law.

“Our current practices foster a healthy, competitive Indonesian app ecosystem,” the spokesperson said, as quoted by Reuters.

Google previously stated that it had introduced a system allowing developers to offer users an alternative billing option. The company has also faced fines from the European Union for anti-competitive practices involving its price comparison service, Android mobile operating system, and advertising platform.

It is worth noting that Google encountered issues in Indonesia months earlier when sales of its Google Pixel phones were blocked. The company reportedly failed to comply with regulations requiring at least 40% of components in smartphones sold domestically to be locally manufactured.

Singapore – PropNex, a Singapore-based real estate company, is releasing its very own version of the popular board game Monopoly called ‘Monopoly Propnex Edition’ in an aim to introduce insights of the local residential market through gamification.

PropNex has likewise partnered with the digital experiential version of the game in Singapore, called ‘Monopoly Explore! SG’, which allows players to explore Singapore through its landmarks, local products, and to even win prizes. 

For the company, the board game will allow the common populace to get a sense and reality of the Singaporean real estate market. Furthermore, it will allow players to experience cash flow management and effective techniques of real estate investments as a lifelong skill, which brings families together in cultivating the wisdom of financial prudence and investment skills.

“Through playing the MONOPOLY PROPNEX EDITION, PropNex is confident that players young and old will have a better grasp of [the] property market in Singapore and as well as a deeper understanding of financial prudence necessary to own their first property or multiple properties. In the game of four to five players per round, as soon as two players go bankrupt, the player with the highest worth of assets will emerge the winner,” the company said in a press statement.

The upcoming physical version of the Monopoly Propnex Edition is targeted at Singaporean consumers, with tutorial videos about the gameplay already available online.

Monopoly-Propnex-Board-Game-Mockup
A snapshot of the physical version of the Monopoly Propnex Edition

According to the company, the Monopoly Propnex Edition is curated to bring out the essence of the ‘Singapore flavor’, which provides a deeper understanding of the property market, namely what constitutes the Core Central Region (CCR), Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) segments, as well as highlighting the various challenges that investors have to overcome in owning multiple properties complying to various cooling measures currently in place.

For Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex, the board game development is traced back to his desire of bringing the board game to every household in Singapore in order to teach the basics of real estate.

“I did not realize that the numerous games played as a family has significantly imprinted on my passion for properties, as PropNex today has fulfilled the aspirations of thousands of homeowners in their dream homes and investments, with the guidance of over 8,900 salespersons. It took my management team and me more than a year to conceptualize and bring this Monopoly PropNex Edition idea to fruition today, and we are excited for Singaporeans to come on board this journey with us,” Gafoor explained. 

PropNex has been ramping up its objective of consumer education about the real estate industry since 2013 when they launched the Consumer Empowerment Campaign, which aimed at keeping their consumers informed of the trends and market outlooks that will affect their real estate decisions. They have also hosted virtual property shows and launched a membership program called PropNex Friends, where members can enjoy exclusive deals and rewards from Propnex itself.

The board game is up for sale at PropNex’s website for S$49.99 or S$42.99 for members of PropNex Friends.