Tag: Southeast Asia

Vietnam – Vietnam’s digital investment platform, Finhay, has secured a US$25m Series B round co-led by Openspace Ventures and VIG. The round also counts Insignia, TVS, Headline,TNBAura, and IVC, amongst those who participated. 

Alongside this fundraising, Finhay has bolstered its market-leading position with the acquisition of a securities brokerage, making it the only licensed digital investment platform in Vietnam. The new capital will be used to invest in strategic business expansion, talent acquisition, and technology development.

Finhay aims to provide Vietnamese consumers with easy and convenient digital access to financial services. With a youthful and ambitious population now looking to invest, the market holds significant promise and Finhay has been able to capture users seeking to capitalise on this opportunity – amassing more than 2.7 million registered users. In 2021 alone, it gained 150% more users, buoyed by the release of four new products, namely cash-wrapped accounts with CIMB, gold trading, a 12-month saving product, and stock trading.

Huy Nghiem, CEO and founder of Finhay, commented that they are thrilled to welcome Openspace, VIG and other investors, and look forward to how their funding and understanding of Southeast Asian fintechs help accelerate Finhay’s growth.

“A large number of people are now looking for ways to start investing – often for the first time, and we are exploring different ways to enable them. It’s such an important inflection point,” said Nghiem.

Meanwhile, Jessica Huang Pouleur, partner at Openspace, said, “Finhay is already emerging as the clear frontrunner in Vietnam’s booming investment space. We believe a massive opportunity exists in Vietnam, which has an enterprising population hungry for the chance to invest smartly. Finhay’s recent developments have paved the way for continued growth as a broader wealth creation platform. We are thrilled to partner with Huy and the relentless Finhay team in their mission.”

Singapore – Southeast Asia’s data-driven loyalty platform, Society Pass (SoPa), has launched the beta version of its universal, open-loop loyalty application, Society Pass, to earn and redeem loyalty points, Society Points, endeavouring to create permanent customer loyalty and replace cash discounting while generating additional revenues for merchants. 

According to SoPa, digital loyalty programmes are key to customer retention within highly competitive verticals and now call for interconnected experiences more than ever, and e-commerce shoppers demand multiple touchpoints to purchase goods and services, earn redeem loyalty points, and refer friends with frictionless ease. The platform’s multi-brand ecosystem allows consumers to earn and redeem points at numerous types of retailers, while facilitating a unified approach to customer rewards and incentives for merchants.

SoPa expects to finetune and integrate the beta version of its loyalty platform with selected groups of consumers and merchants in Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, as well as Thailand, and Singapore in the second half of 2022. With the view of hard launching the loyalty platform in the fourth quarter of 2022, at such time, users can pay for goods and services in-store, in-app, or online. Society Pass’ digital wallet will allow users to pay for goods and services by scanning QR Codes and making payments via credit card, debit card, or Society Points. SoPa aims to provide an easy and convenient online e-commerce shopping experience, with a single UI/UX that integrates with all the businesses within its ecosystem.

Dennis Nguyen, Society Pass’ founder, chairman, and CEO, said that they designed a gorgeous user interface backed by sophisticated backend end infrastructure to kickstart a virtuous cycle of revenue generation and loyalty creation, where Society Pass and Society Points generate more revenues for merchants by retaining existing customers, attracting new customers, reducing customer turnover and syncing customer data through real-time, personalised marketing campaigns.

“As we said in our IPO last November 2021, we introduce Society Pass in 2Q 2022 with the view of creating permanent customer loyalty for merchants by designing unique, personalised experiences [for] consumers and make shopping even more rewarding across our family of brands. Our business strategy encourages cross-vertical shopping, ultimately keeping an increasing share of wallets within SoPa’s ecosystem. We are confident that our customers will redirect their spending to where they gain the most value: our loyalty program,” he added.

Bangkok, Thailand – Thailand’s fintech startup for SMEs, Credit OK, has launched the ‘Protect Now, Pay Later’ program for SMEs, corporations, and individual customers. This program aims to be an alternative for SMEs in managing their risks and accessing the right SME insurance packages plus payment plan options.

Credit OK helps to provide credit facilities for insurance premium payments (premium financing). This aims to serve the requirements of corporate customers and make SME insurance purchases not only convenient but also a friendly experience.

In collaboration with insurance company Chubb Samaggi Insurance in Thailand, Credit OK has designed and developed insurance products to fit the needs of Thai SME operators, including health insurance, motor insurance, compulsory motor insurance, group personal insurance, credit/loan protection, and construction insurance, as well as inland transit/carrier insurance, and machinery insurance.

Phuwarat Norchoovech, CEO of Credit OK, said, “There are 2 factors that contribute to the sustainable growth of SME business, one is cashflow and another is the ability to reduce the risks.”

Credit OK made instant instalment plans for SMEs possible through machine learning, data analytics, and verification systems to make credit assessment simple yet accurate and effective. Customers can choose to have instant coverage from the straight-through purchasing process with 6 instalments with a 0% interest rate. No credit history, guarantors, or bank statement is required.

Moreover, the fintech also houses an online community for SMEs and micro-entrepreneurs called ‘OK Partner’, where small business owners or even individual customers can participate to earn cash back whenever they or their friends purchase on the platform by simply registering on OK Partner and sharing their unique referral links. This will allow their friends to get a cashback discount when buying insurance on Credit OK, and the referrers will also earn extra money through a successful referral.

Singapore – With the increase in adoption of e-commerce across Southeast Asia since the onset of the pandemic, online shopping has since integrated itself into consumers’ everyday lives. With this, e-commerce platform Lazada has unveiled its new brand proposition, ‘Add to Cart. Add to Life.’, recognising that shoppers are no longer just buying products for functional uses. 

This new brand proposition aims to reflect the brand’s belief that e-commerce can add to the lives of consumers by inspiring meaningful connections and memorable experiences with their purchases.

Marcus Chew, Lazada Group’s chief marketing officer, shared that as Southeast Asians continue to add to the cart, they want to be that bridge that connects customers to opportunities that add to life. 

“For us, it’s not just about buying a pan; it’s about owning a pan to add amazing flavours to a delicious meal for loved ones. Likewise, it’s not just about buying a skipping rope; it’s about adding fitness and health to one’s daily routine. Whether it’s a new hobby, honing a skill, creating a more comfortable home or a new look with a style makeover, every product on Lazada has the potential to be the launchpad for enhancing abilities and value-adding to our consumers’ lives,” he said.

Moreover, Lazada has also launched LazLive+, a curated interactive live content series that brings together recognisable, authentic, and trusted experts to share fresh tips and skills with shoppers. It seeks to connect the region’s shoppers with new ideas and experts from all walks of life, through cooking demonstrations, styling know-how, gaming tips, and fitness motivation, amongst others and will roll out across the region from 4 July. 

In Singapore, shoppers will get to interact with their favourite key opinion leaders (KOL) in real-time through the voting and chat functions, including Aiken Matthew Chia, Andrea Chong, Derek Cheong, Mong Chin Yeoh, and Tiong Jia En, with each KOL representing a different lifestyle segment. The live content series will kick off ‘D.I.Y. Like A Pro’ on 4 July with each episode running for one hour. In this series, host Aiken will challenge one of four KOLs to complete a task. The tasks are themed to each KOL’s respective expertise, and they will share personal tips and hacks with viewers on how to get the most value out of the items featured. Aiken, as the underdog challenger, will seek assistance from viewers through a voting process that will gain him access to bonus tools to help him complete his challenge easier. Viewers who aid Aiken in the voting process will also stand to gain exclusive shopping vouchers.

‘D.I.Y. Like A Pro’ will run for 15 episodes, with episodes airing daily at 8 pm during the debut launch week, followed by a weekly live stream every Wednesday at 8 pm. Coupled with exclusive deals and entertainment that Lazada brings to the fingertips, shoppers can also create more fulfilling moments, big and small, that will enrich their lives and those around them.

Chew said, “LazLive+ will also be a great source of inspiration for shoppers with its unique blend of shoppertainment and shop-spiration content, that will enable consumers to discover and unlock new passions and possibilities in their lives, thanks to the experts.”

The brand campaign will run across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, as well as Vietnam, starting 24 June, with a 30-second film, out-of-home, a series of key visuals, influencer engagement, and topical social media activation, as well as other creative executions.

Singapore – A growing number of advertisers in Southeast Asia are tapping into alternative ad targeting methods amidst new data privacy laws that have been implemented, according to the latest report from InMobi.

According to the report, around 80% of respondents have already started testing rules-based targeting that allows businesses to switch app experiences based on ‘rules’ such as user geography, operating system, browsers, device and more. Meanwhile, 76% of respondents identified contextual targeting as an alternative ad method to serve personalised messages to consumers based on demographics, preferences, and behaviours within the app.

Despite these strategies to move into alternative ad targeting methods, 44% of respondents highlight that a top concern on the phasing out of advertising identity is the inability to personalise and accurately target their ads. In addition, 51% of respondents expressed worry over the effectiveness and frequency of their consumer reach, resulting from having to rely on smaller data pools.

The report also noted that 38% of brands and 55% of media agencies in Southeast Asia are in the early stage of consumer data privacy management practice maturity, still trying to identify and understand the impact of consumer data privacy developments on their current mobile marketing strategy.

In addition, 81% of respondents comprising business decision-makers in Southeast Asia believe that increasing reach and conversion to improve profitability ranks as one of the top high-critical marketing priorities. This further links to privacy-related challenges where 60% of respondents acknowledged users’ ability to block their identifier for advertisers (IDFA) as a key marketing challenge.

Rishi Bedi, managing director for Asia-Pacific at InMobi, said, “The advertising ecosystem in Southeast Asia showcases matured levels of preparedness for data and identity deprecation. Publishers in the region are more advanced in their consumer data privacy practices than brands and media agencies who seem to be struggling to build a culture that values privacy and enforces regulatory compliance. Obtaining executive support for data stewardship and governance program can help businesses overcome this obstacle.”

Bangkok, Thailand – Euromonitor International, the global independent strategic market research provider firm, has revealed its ‘Top 100 Retailers in Asia 2022’ report, with three retailers from Thailand entering the SEA rankings, including omnichannel retailer Central Retail Corp with US$5.06b in 2021 sales, which ranked seventh amongst the other 25 retailers from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.

The other two are conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group with US$4.44b in 2021 sales, landing at 10th place, as well as hypermarket chain operator Big C Supercenter PCL with US$2.53b in 2021 sales, ranking 15th. The list was topped by Shopee’s parent company Sea from Singapore, with US$16.06b in 2021 sales.

In last year’s report by Euromonitor, Big C Supercenter PCL was ranked 12th in SEA rankings, while Central Retail Corp and Charoen Pokphand Group did not make the cut. 

The ‘Top 100 Retailers in Asia 2022’ report found that retail performance in 2021 reflects the pace of channel shifts, and e-commerce players outperformed other distribution channels, especially in markets with lower online penetration. It also revealed that pricing, marketing, and customer service also need to reflect individual market dynamics. When well-executed, localised approaches give retailers and manufacturers a steadfast and longer-term competitive edge. 

“SEA is home to more than 500 million people with diverse ethnicities, cultures, and religions, as well as online shopping habits. Conquering this market is complex. Regional e-commerce players must create localised strategies like search engine optimisation for respective countries and languages or product lines catered to various cultural needs,” said Euromonitor.

According to Euromonitor, retailing current value sales in Thailand fell for the second year in a row in 2021, with the rate of decline accelerating into double digits. Due to lockdowns, non-essential retail outlets, such as department stores and variety stores, underwent closure for an extended period. However, retailing current value sales were supported to an extent by an increase in welfare payments and subsidies by the government.

This 2022, retailing current value sales will begin to expand again, with the rate of growth accelerated over the course of the forecast period. However, in constant value terms (2021 prices), retailing value sales will not surpass their 2019 level until 2025. Growth will be supported by an anticipated post-pandemic economic rebound, with a revival in inbound tourism playing a significant role in this.

Singapore – SaaS omnichannel social commerce platform SleekFlow has completed a US$8m Series A funding round, led by New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Partners, with notable investors like Transcend Capital and AEF Greater Bay Area Fund, managed by Gobi Partners GBA – the GP of Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund (AHKEF). 

The newly secured funds will be channelled to facilitating SleekFlow’s strategic market penetration into SEA, specifically Singapore and Malaysia, and as part of its expansion plans into the UK, Europe, and other emerging markets. 

Moreover, the funds will be used to scale the platform’s capabilities with fintech and data analytics functions, one-click checkouts via popular social media platforms, centralised product listings, and easy in-chat payment integrations to enhance seamless workflow for O2O and e-commerce brands.

Henson Tsai, founder and CEO of SleekFlow, shared that the social commerce market is expected to rise to US$3.37t by 2028, and SleekFlow aims to drive this e-commerce revolution by being the top social commerce unified hub – merging conversations, product catalogues, payment solutions, and order management into one for businesses.

“With investor trust from Tiger Global Partners, Transcend Capital, and AEF Greater Bay Area Fund, SleekFlow will enhance product developments to include detailed buyer journey tracking and analytics, which will provide invaluable actionable insights for enterprises to unlock their social commerce power as they embrace this unstoppable megatrend,” said Tsai. 

Meanwhile, Chibo Tang, managing partner of Gobi Partners GBA, said, “Eight in 10 US businesses anticipate increased sales via social media within the next three years. SleekFlow’s innovative solutions will help these global commerce businesses meet the evolving needs of customers who are turning to social channels to purchase more than ever before.”

Just recently, SleekFlow has also launched its new one-click checkout function and social-to-payment ecosystem, which provides a comprehensive solution for both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar businesses to receive payments directly via social chats. The newly advanced chat-and-pay feature effectively connects businesses and consumers with a faster, easier, and more well-secured path to purchase, unlocking a new avenue for business profits and revenue.

Singapore – Food delivery company Deliveroo in Singapore has appointed integrated communications agency VCCP Singapore as its new creative agency. The remit will see VCCP reinforcing Deliveroo’s passion for food and the value that it brings to the lives of Singaporeans every day.

Moreover, this partnership highlights an alignment in cultural values and principles between the two companies, and a shared desire to be integral to a passion so close to the hearts of the nation.

Minjoo Lee, head of marketing at Deliveroo Singapore, commented, “Since entering the market six years ago, Deliveroo has successfully built a strong brand presence in Singapore. We chose VCCP Singapore for their passion and creativity and are excited to see how our partnership will drive Deliveroo to the next level of our journey.”

Meanwhile, Craig Mapleston, CEO at VCCP Singapore, said that Deliveroo, at just six years old, has a great synergy with VCCP in its fourth year in Singapore. 

“We are two ambitious companies, not afraid to take on bigger, more established players. Our challenge is to make Deliveroo the preferred choice by strengthening consumers’ affinity for Deliveroo, through a more culturally driven strategy and creativity,” added Mapleston.

Just recently, VCCP Singapore has been appointed by insurance company Sun Life Singapore to be its creative agency partner. The remit will see VCCP crafting a brand strategy and narrative that resonates with the targeted ‘High Net Worth’ and ‘Ultra High Net Worth’ client segments of the company in the country.

Singapore – Asia’s home services brand, Urban Company, has handed its media mandate for Singapore to Havas Media, the media arm of the global marketing and communications group Havas. The mandate includes brand and performance marketing management. 

Urban Company is an all-in-one platform that helps users hire professionals for premium home services, from beauticians and masseurs to sofa cleaners, carpenters and technicians. All the professionals, though experienced and skilled, undergo intensive training modules before being allowed to list their services on the platform. Once on the platform, its match-making algorithm identifies professionals who are closest to the users’ requirements and available at the requested time and date. 

Joon Ming Yeo, Urban Company’s head of marketing, said, “Havas Media impressed us with their technical expertise as well as their commitment to understanding our business goals. We look forward to working together to improve Urban Company’s brand and performance activities to further grow the on-demand home services category in Singapore.”

Meanwhile, Louise Koh, Havas Media’s executive director for Singapore, commented that they are delighted to embrace the opportunity to help Urban Company further grow its penetration of millennial homeowners in Singapore. 

“We look forward to leveraging our full-funnel expertise to drive meaningful interactions for Urban Company’s consumers across all touchpoints as well as deliver a frictionless digital experience,” said Koh.

Singapore – Singapore-based live streaming solutions provider, BeLive Technology, has partnered with Revieve, a personalised digital brand experience company, to bring a new solution for beauty products virtual try-on, delivering a personalised online shopping experience for customers across APAC.

The new solution powered by BeLive Technology integrates Revieve’s AI/AR capabilities into a single platform that offers a seamless customer experience for users. Through this collaboration, brands and retailers can reach out to millions of clients in Asia, enhancing real-time live engagement with their customers before, during, and after a live stream. 

By equipping beauty retailers with a set of AI/AR-driven online experiences, the new platform allows brands to better understand their audience. With the insights provided by AI technology, companies can offer tailored product recommendations based on clients’ unique preferences and skin concerns as they engage in real-time via live streaming shopping. Users can also experience virtual try-on of several skin and beauty products through the platform’s AR capabilities.

Kenneth Tan, CEO and co-founder of BeLive Technology, said, “This collaboration with Revieve will mark a new age for beauty brands and retailers who want to leverage video consumption and streaming content in order to engage with shoppers in a way that’s on-trend with how people consume media. We are delighted to power Revieve’s new platform that will revolutionise the online beauty retail world.”

Meanwhile, Yusuke Mori, Revieve’s country manager for Japan, noted that live streaming is no longer a novelty – live video is changing the way brands interact with their audiences and has already become a preferred way for users to consume new content. 

“Together with BeLive Technology, we empower brands and retailers to build elevated personal experiences and capture shoppers anytime, anywhere, and engage with them more meaningfully than ever before,” said Mori.

In May 2022, BeLive Technology has launched its new Live Commerce Software as a Service (SaaS) solution called ‘Live One-to-Many Retail Application’ (LORA), which is specifically for retail and e-commerce industry players.