Tag: Operations

Singapore – Global multinational computer technology company Oracle has announced that it is exiting the advertising business by the fourth quarter of this year, as announced by the company during its latest earnings announcement.

According to Safra Catz, CEO at Oracle, its advertising business had declined to about US$300m in revenue in fiscal year 2024.

It is worth noting that Oracle aimed at building up its advertising business by acquiring multiple firms like Vitrue, Eloqua, BlueKai, DataLogix, and Moat to build out its advertising capabilities. However, a mixture of industry changes like halting third-party partners for ad targeting as well as lawsuits has resulted in Oracle slowly shutting down its advertising initiatives in recent years.

Nonetheless, Oracle notes in its latest earnings report that its cloud and data center business is seeing significant growth, with executives noting that fiscal year 2025 will see cloud infrastructure services to grow faster than the 50% they reported this year.

“We believe our momentum, our current momentum will continue as our pipeline is growing even faster than bookings and our win rates are going higher as well,” Catz stated.

Singapore – The Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore has awarded to Stellar Experience its road assets advertising operator (AO) tender, effective for 10 years starting from January 1, 2024.

Through the tender, Stellar Experience will be managing and operating the advertising spaces at LTA-owned bus and taxi shelters as well as designated pedestrian infrastructure, with an option to extend for another six years.

LTA has been appointing AOs to manage the advertising spaces, as well as the general maintenance (such as cleaning) of bus and taxi shelters since 1999. This approach allows LTA to select best-in-class AOs to manage these assets and introduce creative campaigns to boost advertising revenue, which is then shared with the Government through a concession fee model.

This mandate marks the first time that LTA has consolidated the advertising concessions for bus and taxi shelters under our purview into a single contract. Bus and taxi shelter advertising spaces were previously tendered out as two separate AO contracts, specifically to Clear Channel Singapore and JCDecaux Singapore, and will expire in December 2023 and March 2025 respectively.

“Consolidation of bus and taxi shelter assets, and the inclusion of additional advertising assets into single contract will provide the AO with greater scale and enable the AO to sell across multiple platforms. This will help to boost advertising revenue, and in turn the concession fees,” LTA said in an online statement.

LTA had received a total of seven proposals from four tenderers for this tender. Proposals were evaluated on their quality, whether tenderers are able to maintain the bus and taxi shelters per LTA’s requirements, as well as their ability to generate non-fare revenue from these road assets.

Singapore – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a six-month pause of DBS Banks’ non-essential services in order to allow the bank to focus more on the essential service of restoring its system resilience, following a slew of prolonged outages and disruptions in the bank’s systems.

Suspended non-essential services include acquiring new business ventures during this period or reducing the size of its branch and ATM networks in Singapore.

The imposed pause was the result of when MAS directed DBS to conduct a third-party independent review of the bank’s systems back in April this year. Through the review, they identified several shortcomings on the bank’s systems which included system resilience, incident management, change management, and technology risk governance and oversight.

Following the independent review, DBS Bank has set out a technology resiliency roadmap to address the shortcomings, improve system resilience, and better position the bank to meet future digital banking needs. The roadmap is being implemented in phases, with the changes affecting its system architecture design taking more time to complete.

Moreover, MAS will review the progress made by DBS Bank on its remediation efforts at the end of six months. MAS may extend the duration of the measures, vary the additional capital requirement currently imposed, or take further actions at that point.

Ho Hern Shin, deputy managing director for financial supervision at MAS, said, “DBS must put in place immediate measures to ensure service reliability while it continues to invest in the longer-term efforts to bolster its operational resilience. We have imposed this six-month pause on the bank to give it the space to take the actions needed to maintain customer trust.”

Following the said statement, DBS has issued an official apology related to its series of digital disruptions, while promising that a roadmap that includes measures to strengthen technology governance, people/leadership, systems and processes is now rolling.

DBS Chairman Peter Seah said, “The Board apologises for the digital banking disruptions. When customers bank with us, they expect to be able to access our banking services conveniently, and at any time of the day. With the incidents of the past year, we have failed to live up to these expectations, and have also fallen short of our own standards. As an acknowledgement that the bank could have done better, senior management will be held accountable, and this will be reflected in their compensation.”

He added, “Over the past few months, the bank has been making every effort possible to strengthen our resiliency and business continuity, and to be able to recover more quickly when incidents happen. This is a work in progress, and we seek customers’ patience as we work through our remedial actions.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Local low-cost airline MYAirline has announced that is suspending its operations following financial woes the company is currently facing.

“We deeply regret and apologise for having to make this decision as we understand the impact it will have on our loyal passengers, dedicated employees and partners. We have worked tirelessly to explore various partnership and capital-raising options to prevent this suspension. Unfortunately, the constraints of time have left us with no alternative but to take this decision,” the company’s board of directors said in a statement.

The company has also apologised to its passengers who have been stranded at the airports without assistance from MYAirline staff.

“At present, MYAirline is exploring all avenues to reactivate its operations and fly again. We respectfully ask for patience from all stakeholders while we evaluate all options. MYAirline will issue further updates when they are available,” the company also added.

The suspension of operations comes days after MYAirline had announced key leadership changes, with long-time CEO Rayner Teo stepping down due to health constraints.

Following this update, low-cost giant AirAsia has come forward to offer support to affected passengers and employees of the airline.

In a statement, airasia said that it is offering a special discount for affected passengers who have confirmed flight bookings to and from Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Penang, Tawau, Kota Bharu, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Kota Kinabalu-Tawau, and Don Mueng-Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi-Bangkok. This took effect from October 12 and will end on November 30.

Bo Lingam, group CEO at AirAsia Aviation Group, said, “As the people’s airline, we deeply empathise with all affected MYAirline passengers and their staff. We understand the stress and disruption this situation has caused and hope that this 50 percent discount will assist affected passengers in making new travel arrangements, making full use of our extensive flight network to all key destinations.”

He added, “Our thoughts also go out to all the dedicated staff impacted by this situation. We recognise the talent and experience of MYAirline’s staff, and would like to extend a helping hand. We are pleased to consider hiring eligible and qualified individuals from MYAirline who share our passion for the industry and are willing to contribute their skills and expertise to our team. We encourage affected MYAirline staff to reach out to us and explore the possibilities of joining our Allstars family.”

Manila, Philippines – Global consumer finance provider Home Credit has announced that it is selling its Philippine and Indonesian operations, with a valuation of €‎615m. The transaction is expected to be completed in H2 2023.

The transaction has been reached with a consortium with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), led by Thai bank Krungsri Bank, Japanese bank MUFG Bank, Indonesian credit facility Adira Finance, and an undisclosed local Indonesian investor.

Details of the transaction include Krungsri and MUFG Bank purchasing 75% and 25% respectively of Home Credit Philippines for a valuation of €406m; while Krungsri, Adira and a local Indonesian investor will purchase 75%, 10%, and 15%, respectively of Home Credit Indonesia for a valuation of €209m.

Jean-Pascal Duvieusart, CEO of Home Credit Group, said, “Home Credit launched around ten years ago in both the Philippines and Indonesia. In that time, they have flourished into market leading tech-based financial services companies. The success is down to our strong omnichannel network, highly regarded brand and robust customer base.”

He added, “It is now the right time for us to pass the baton onto new shareholders who can accelerate growth for these two exciting businesses as they approach this new phase. Both of these markets have played key roles in Home Credit and we will be watching their future with pride and interest.”

Manila, Philippines – American footwear brand Skechers has transitioned its operations in the Philippines from a third-party distributor, Trendworks International, to Skechers USA Philippines Inc, aimed at maximizing the brand’s growth prospects in the region.

The move will see Skechers offering its full range of lifestyle and performance footwear and apparel in Skechers retail stores, including the recently opened location in Alabang Town Center and another in Ayala Malls Manila Bay, which will be open this week. Another 10 to 12 additional concept stores are planned for the first half of 2022. Moreover, the brand will also be available in key departments and specialty stores including Planet Sports and The SM Store.

David Weinberg, SKECHERS USA’s chief operating officer, believes that the Philippines has immense potential for the brand, and with its dedicated team focused on growth and delivering the integrated capabilities of Skechers, the move is expected to further accelerate the brand’s potential.

“With Skechers’ appealing lifestyle collections, groundbreaking comfort innovations, and our corporate support, we believe the Philippines can become a key market for us in Southeast Asia,” said Weinberg.

Suzette Pasustento, the country manager of Skechers USA Philippines, shared that they are presently in the first phase of re-establishing the brand in the market, setting up new offices in Manila, and implementing a distribution center, as well as the opening of their first new store this month. 

“In 2022, we will introduce new product categories, open more retail locations and expand our door count with new retailers, as well as launch a comprehensive marketing campaign,” said Pasustento.

Skechers said that Trendworks International will continue to sell Skechers products through the end of 2021.

Pakistan – Chinese low-cost retailer Miniso has acquired the Pakistan operations of eCommerce site ToSharing from shopping website Cheezmall, said a report by Profit.

The acquisition, which has a valuation between $5M and $7M, was finalized in September.

With the business based in China, ToSharing’s operations are manned outside of Pakistan. Prior to the acquisition, Miniso products are offered on a number of third-party marketplaces in the country, with ToSharing considered as its channel partner with direct online sales redirecting to the site.

With the deal, such marketplaces will be halted. Miniso did share that the sale of its products through the said channel resulted in inconsistent customer experiences, where ToSharing now standing as the exclusive online destination for purchasing Miniso products in Pakistan.

Mainly, the move by Miniso will be an acqui-hiring where as of 21 October 2020, cross-functional teams of ToSharing across marketing, supply chain, customer care, security, and risk will be transferred to Miniso.pk, its upcoming eCommerce store.

The site will be ready to process orders by the 31st of October 2020.

The acquisition is only the first phase of the investment from Miniso, with the retailer looking to complete further investments to build eCommerce fulfillment centers and the entire infrastructure, for a successful eCommerce operation in major cities of Pakistan.

Singapore-Digital analytics company Contentsquare has recently announced its organizational expansion within the Asia Pacific (APAC) region by establishing several regional offices and appointing two new executives to aid in the company’s operations.

The company upholds its provision of services, including customer behavior, behavior analysis through billions of anonymous web, mobile and app interactions, transforming this knowledge into advisories that increase revenue, engagement and growth.

Its new regional offices are located in the cities of Singapore, Tokyo, Melbourne, and Sydney. 

Following this endeavor, Contentsquare has also employed two key executives for the overall operations of the group. David Bochsler, a former senior head at Microsoft, has been hired as the regional managing director for APAC operations, while Frazer Adnam, former head of CRM Marketing for Deliveroo and later on Afterpay, joined as ANZ Country Manager. The company said the expansion endeavor is part of its goal for the year to specifically expand within the APAC region, which it hopes to stay in the longer run. 

“When I first saw the Contentsquare platform, I was just so excited about the technology. I was the decision maker on the brand side that Contentsquare would have traditionally sold to. I thought, ‘this solves problems that I literally would have needed five people to solve.’ From someone who had been working in customer experience roles for a long period of time, I was completely fascinated by what I saw was going to be the new wave of customer experience technology,” Frazer Adnam, country manager for ANZ Contentsquare stated.

Meanwhile, David Bochsler, Contentsquare’s APAC managing director commented, “Contentsquare is perfectly positioned for substantial growth in Asia. It caters exceptionally well to those very large mature, highly data driven organizations but also caters to those people that are just getting their feet in the water as far as understanding what their online visitors are doing. It’s the first time I’ve seen any technology that’s shown me what’s inside that black box of customer behavior online. It allows brands to finally understand why their digital visitors behave the way they do”.

Taiwan – Global mobile ad tech company Adludio has announced that it has pivoted to tap into Taiwan’s rapidly-growing mobile gaming fanbase with the expansion of its operations to the region.

Adludio is a mobile advertising platform for delivering interactive creatives using gaming engine and artificial intelligence technologies. Following its launch in 2015, it has grown its presence across US, Europe, and Asia.

According to Adludio’s data, Taiwan is an emerging key market for mobile advertisers as the count of mobile phone connections in the country total 28.43 million, equating to 1.19 connections per person. Similarly, its gaming market shows great potential as it is expected to grow to $2.8 billion by 2021, with mobile games accounting for 60% of the revenue.

Benjamin Pavanetto, managing director for Asia commented on the growth opportunity the expansion offers, “Taiwan’s high internet penetration and fast-growing economic development makes it an ideal market for brands to effectively reach audiences digitally. The projected growth in Taiwan’s gaming industry also shows potential to create effective consumer engagement through gamified advertising.”

Meanwhile, Adludio’s Founder and CEO Paul Coggins said, “It is truly an exciting opportunity for us to expand into Taiwan. Taiwan is a market with extremely active mobile users, and Adludio’s mobile-first offering will bode well with creative and bold clients looking to increase their mobile performance and engagement.”

According to Coggins, the company is already working with clients such as LG, Audi and Cartier in Taiwan.

The Taiwan team will be led by Pavanetto who relocated from Singapore this year, alongside Adludio’s sales manager in Taiwan Clayton Chao.