Tag: Southeast Asia

Singapore – Small-and-medium enterprise (SME) payments platform HitPay has raised US$15.75m to continue building its payment gateway service for SMEs in Southeast Asia. The funding round was led by Tiger Global and joined by returning investors Global Founders Capital and HOF Capital.

With the capital raised, HitPay will continue to build a leading payments infrastructure platform — with unique SME-friendly features including support for local and international payment methods, best-in-class business software, and integrations with accounting and e-commerce platforms.

HitPay’s range of payment solutions — including local and cross-border payment acceptance and payouts, an online store platform, POS software with card readers, plugins, and payment links — help resource-strapped SMEs improve their payment gateways.

Aditya Haripurkar, CEO and co-founder at HitPay, said, “We are thrilled to have the backing of incredible investors in our mission to empower SMEs with easy, accessible digital payments. SMEs are still underserved, with limited resources and poor access to affordable payment services. With our Series A funding, HitPay can continue to support the unique needs of our merchants, and build the best payment gateway for small businesses.”

HitPay is now available in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, the US, Europe, and the UAE — and is poised to serve new markets in Southeast Asia in the coming months.

Malaysia – Malaysia-based leisure entertainment specialist and theme parks developer and operator, Sim Leisure Group (SLG), has appointed celebrity host and TV presenter Baki Zainal as its first-ever brand ambassador. This appointment will see Zainal anchoring and championing prominent brands under the group, including its proprietary ESCAPE brand of nature-inspired theme parks.

Zainal, who has made significant strides in Malaysia’s entertainment industry with his talent and linguistic edge, is perhaps most known for his claim to fame as a multilingual TV host, conversing effortlessly in English, Bahasa Melayu, and Mandarin, amassing a wide-reaching audience and fan base. He is also known to be an avid traveller, adrenaline junkie, and thrill seeker, making his appointment as SLG’s brand ambassador a rather natural one.

Commenting on his ambassadorship, Zainal shared that he has always had a lot of respect for Sim Leisure Group, especially for the ESCAPE brand of themed attractions, as they are a fine example of a homegrown Malaysian success story, who have made their mark in the international travel and leisure industry. 

“And as a TV and travel show host, this is something I try to promote and portray – the multifaceted nature and richness of Malaysia and Malaysians. So, when I was approached by the group to be their first-ever brand ambassador, I did not hesitate to jump on the opportunity. It’s going to be exciting and I’m truly looking forward to working with them,” said Zainal. 

Meanwhile, Choo Kheng Sim, Sim Leisure Group’s founder and CEO, commented that they are thrilled to have Zainal on board as their first-ever brand ambassador, as they have had a wonderful working relationship with him in the past when he hosted the launch of many of their attractions. 

“In addition to his natural charm and magnetic personality, his spirit of excitement and adventure has truly stood out, making him the perfect fit for this role. Moreover, his involvement with various travel and tourism bodies around the world bodes well for the group’s ongoing expansion plans, not only in Malaysia, but also internationally. We’ve got a lot of plans in store and are already working with him on several engagements to take our brands and attractions to even greater heights,” said Sim.

Senai, Malaysia – Impiana Hotel Senai, a business hotel located in Johor, has launched the new Impiana Hotel Senai Rewards App. This mobile app allows users to access the latest F&B deals and room promotions. All registered users are entitled to get one point for every RM1 spent via the app and enjoy various rewards throughout its usage.

While cumulative points are redeemable at all F&B outlets, as well as at the hotel in the form of room nights, the app is user-friendly and offers instant rewards such as F&B discounts, complimentary meals on birthday month, and special room rates dedicated only for the app users. It allows users to choose a promotion of their choice by clicking on any of the offers displayed, and then filling in the necessary information before being directed to the payment gateway.

Mahadi Mathana, Impiana Hotel Senai’s general manager, said that with this one-for-all app, they are not only building a platform that gets them closer to a full omnichannel experience with the shoppers, but also increasing their capabilities to deliver more customisable options for users.

“In conjunction with Impiana Hotel Senai 5 years anniversary since its opening on 10 October 2017, the hotel grants instant 500 points for every installation of the app until October 2022,” he added.

The hotel said that all promotions are viewable on the newly launched app and foreseen to be one of the best-selling deals on the platform is the BBQ Buffet Dinner. The latest updates are also available on Impiana Hotel Senai Facebook and Instagram page.

Singapore – Digital marketing and advertising agency Bonsey Jaden has announced the promotion of Francois Filamor, former general manager for the Philippines, to be its group general manager. Through the new role, Filamor will aid the agency’s continued growth in its service lineup across Southeast Asia and Australia under its parent company Cue Group.

His 15 years in the industry have taken him from strength to strength, with his work encompassing major tech and finance brands such as Galderma, BPI, and Grab. Through the new endeavour, the role of general manager for the Philippines will be turned over to Kris Villongco.

Speaking on his promotion, he said, “[We’re all] excited—there is a lot of progress even beyond the seven markets that Bonsey Jaden is currently present in. We look forward to widening our footprint globally and furthering our strategy-driven talent on the international stage. And I personally look forward to scaling what we’ve accomplished in the Philippines in terms of client growth and retention, operational efficiency, and employee satisfaction to drive success further across the region.”

Meanwhile, Daniel Posavac, founder and CEO at Bonsey Jaden, commented, “We are extremely happy to promote Francois into this new role as we move forward with offering new services on data, market analysis, and AI. He will be leading all of our general managers across the different markets and be a vanguard for our company’s growth.”

Singapore – Singapore-based live streaming solutions provider, 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. This includes a set of live shopping features at a lower maintenance cost designed to help brands engage with their consumers on a more immersive and interactive level, turning the usual monologue of videos into a dialogue of live streaming capabilities.

The new solution enables businesses to customise the platform according to their branding design, as well as install and go live quickly and easily. Live shopping allows for more personalised online engagement, immersive virtual events, and immediate interactivity. Therefore, brands, retailers, or e-commerce marketplaces that are looking to create meaningful experiences for their clients will immensely benefit from BeLive Technology’s LORA. 

Moreover, the new platform enables businesses to build more intimate relationships with users and keep them loyal to brands. It also allows brands to easily maintain the technology at a lower cost.

Kenneth Tan, BeLive Technology’s CEO and co-founder, shared that since 2016, they have been working with a diverse set of brands across the globe, and this is why they notice a large demand from the industry for an affordable and scalable solution. 

“Our experience in the interactive streaming space, serving notable retail leaders puts us in the best position to build this product for the industry. We know what features are effective and impactful, and our expertise in developing custom solutions gives us that edge. Therefore, this product will allow us to empower brands across the retail and eCommerce space to go live faster and offer meaningful online shopping experiences to their customers,” said Tan.

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia – As Grab Malaysia continues to scale up its environmental sustainability efforts, the superapp has partnered with Malaysia’s reverse vending machine ecosystem, KLEAN, and the one-stop-shop for innovation commercialisation, Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (MRANTI), to look at solutions that will responsibly recover and recycle single-use plastic with reverse vending machines (RVMs). This move aims to help encourage recycling and make it easier for consumers to contribute to a greener Malaysia.

Through this partnership, Grab and KLEAN will be rolling out AI-driven RVMs, at specific locations, where users can easily send their recyclable food packaging waste. In addition, Grab will be leveraging its platform to increase visibility, and drive consumer participation and education efforts. Meanwhile, MRANTI’s role in providing integrated facilities for end-to-end research, development, commercialisation, and innovation (R&D&C&I) services will assist in the enhancement of the AI on the RVMs, and will help accelerate the commercialisation of the product.

Hassan Alsagoff, Grab Malaysia’s country marketing head, shared that they seek to protect the environment as it is crucial to building resilient small businesses and strong communities that can thrive for generations to come.

“We will continue to collaborate with government bodies, corporate partners, and policymakers through various programmes, to tackle the challenge of climate change. Together we want to create a sustainable future and provide easy ways for our consumers to make greener choices in everyday decisions”, said Alsagoff.

KLEAN Reverse Vending Machines, which was launched in 2019 by JANZ Technologies Sdn Bhd, collect aluminium cans and plastic bottles, and sort on-site, while registering users and rewarding them with virtual points. These collected items are then smelted back into aluminium in the case of cans and recycled into Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pellets and fibre in the case of plastic bottles by recycling partners within the KLEAN ecosystem.

Over the next few months, the partnership aims to look at developing more AI-driven RVMs, onboard more reward partners to its redemption platform, data collection and deploy the machines to various locations across the country for easier access.

Alsagoff added, “We believe that this is a small step in the right direction. We are committed to making a real sustainable and scalable impact in partnership with drivers, industry innovators, and governments. It’s the right thing to do for our communities, our cities, and the planet we all share.”

Joey Azman, KLEAN’s co-founder and chief financial officer, shared that they applaud Grab Malaysia’s commitment to recover back and promote recycling of single-use plastic alongside its aim to partner locally, as with the rising popularity of food and grocery deliveries, it is essential that they find ways to enable greater recycling of plastic waste. 

“Partnerships and initiatives from corporations like Grab can help rally communities to adopt greener practices and contribute to positive change. We hope other companies will join us in our mission to improve the recycling habits of consumers through KLEAN’s own digital version of a ‘container deposit scheme,” said Azman.

Meanwhile, Dzuleira Abu Bakar, MRANTI’s CEO, noted that MRANTI is set to bridge the gap between public and private sector collaboration by connecting problem statements (demand) with solutions (supply) and increasing private sector participation, either through market access, investment, advisory, consultation, or providing testing and prototyping facilities. 

“This project collaboration amongst the great minds of Grab and KLEAN is what we aim to nurture further within the ecosystem,” said Abu Bakar.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Tourism Malaysia, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia, has partnered with global travel platform Expedia Group, for a joint-marketing collaboration to support Malaysia’s domestic and international efforts to promote tourism in Malaysia.

Aligned with Tourism Malaysia’s tourism promotion strategies, the agreement will see both parties embark on an Expedia Group Media Solutions global campaign to promote inbound travel from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to Malaysia. It will spotlight Malaysia’s hidden and unique tourist attractions, as well as promote the variety of accommodations to Expedia Group’s more than 750 million monthly visitors globally.

Moreover, the collaboration will support the country’s target of achieving two million tourist arrivals and RM8.6b in tourist spending, set for its national ‘Malaysia Truly Asia 2022’ campaign.

Doug Park, Expedia Group Media Solutions’ vice president of operations and services, said, “As the world’s travel platform, Expedia Group is proud to be embarking on this journey with Tourism Malaysia to promote and help Malaysia rebuild its reign as a top tourist destination in the region, connecting Malaysia’s tourism industry to millions of travellers in Expedia Group’s worldwide network.”

Meanwhile, Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Binti Shukri, the minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia, said, “The Internet of Things (IoT) is no longer a stranger to us, and we have become comfortable with this new norm. It is only crucial for the tourism industry to step onto the bandwagon and be one with this new trend and lifestyle.”

Aside from boosting promotion internationally, Tourism Malaysia is also continuing with its focus on further enhancing its domestic promotion with the local media. In addition, the agency has introduced nine mainstream and new media, namely ASTRO, Media Prima Omnia, Star Media Group, RTM, Sinar Harian, Nanyang Siang Pau, Borneo Post, Free Malaysia Today, and BFM 89.9 Radio, as well as two ambient media which are KLIA TV and AEON, who will work together with Tourism Malaysia in enhancing the Cuti-Cuti Malaysia Campaign for the year 2022, to produce a series of branded contents and niche programmes emphasising on the PRE 2.0 projects, to cater for the local market.

“Tourism Malaysia will be intensifying the campaign together with these respective platforms through various means, including electronics, print, and digital, covering tourist destinations within Malaysia. A special thanks to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government Malaysia (KPKT) for providing us with their digital billboards across the states in Malaysia,” added Shukri.

Singapore – Full-service global communications agency Redhill has been appointed as the lead public relations (PR) agency for SO Sofitel Hua Hin in Singapore. This remit is SO Sofitel Hua Hin’s first partnership post-pandemic as Thailand reopens its doors to international visitors.

As part of the remit, Redhill will be working with SO Sofitel Hua Hin to raise awareness of the resort and boost its reputation with a scope that covers PR counsel, media, and influencer engagement, as well as media monitoring and analysis. 

Shubham Chandra, SO Sofitel Hua Hin’s cluster general manager, commented that they are delighted to have Redhill on board to support SO Sofitel Hua Hin as they open the doors to visitors from around the world.

“We are proud to partner with an agency that has deep expertise in the hospitality sector in Singapore, and one that truly understands our commitment to bringing unique, personalised and authentic lifestyle experiences to guests,” said Chandra.

Meanwhile, Marienelle Castelino, Redhill’s managing director, said, “We are honoured to be working with a high-end, fashion-led lifestyle brand like SO Sofitel Hua Hin. We look forward to a meaningful partnership and positioning SO Sofitel Hua Hin as a perfect destination for travellers who want fashionable and social luxury experiences.”

In April 2022, Redhill has officially launched Redhill Studio, a specialist division offering services for the designing of creative assets and web development. At the same time, the agency has also welcomed Aditya Menon as the division’s business director. He will spearhead the division and enhance Redhill’s broad range of services.

Manila, Philippines – Mediabrands, the media and marketing solutions division of Interpublic Group, has elevated Raymond Dizon, who was previously the managing director of Reprise Philippines, to step into the newly created role of chief integration officer at Mediabrands Philippines.

In his new role, Dizon, who will be based in Manila, Philippines, will be leading strategic partnerships, direction, and digital product development and integration across the Mediabrands network of agencies including UM, Initiative, and Reprise, in addition to strategic business units such as Mediabrands Content Studio, Magna, and Orion. Dizon will also be retaining his strategic leadership oversight of Reprise Philippines.

Dizon brings with him 14 years of digital and media experience, the last six of which across Mediabrands agencies UM and Reprise. Aside from his previous roles at Mediabrands, he also worked with MediaCom, PHD Singapore, and UPFRONT MEDIA.

Dizon shared, “We are firmly focused on the goal to provide our clients with the most progressive solutions. As the market continues to evolve, and the array of tools, technologies, and synergies open up even more opportunities; we are looking to provide seamless synergy across crafts and a thoughtful blending of expert insights. I’m looking forward to the many possibilities that lay ahead.”

Meanwhile, Tricia Camarillo-Quiambao, Mediabrands’ CEO for the Philippines, commented that Dizon has a strong track record of commercial business building and specialised digital craft leadership which includes pioneering work in the e-commerce space.

“The creation of this new role is a testament to the evolving needs of our client partners which is reflected in the structure of our organisation. Raymond’s extensive expertise and experience across multiple craft and categories make him perfectly poised to take on the broader strategic remit across the network of agencies,” said Camarillo-Quiambao.

Just recently, Mediabrands has announced the launch of the media industry’s first major transformation of automated systems for more than two decades. To bring the 20-month project to life, Mediabrands partnered with global software company UI Path, and information and technology services company, Cognizant. The transition fully automates repetitive manual tasks across Initiative and UM using robotic technology, providing an enhanced career path for talent and a stronger value proposition for clients.

Hanoi, Vietnam – Vietnam’s telecommunications network operator, Viettel Telecom, has partnered with international insurtech, bolttech, to launch an insurance offering, which will be powered by bolttech’s insurance exchange platform, on its customer app MyViettel, with products including health, travel, and home, as well as car, and motorbike.

The partnership will see bolttech cooperating with Viettel and reputable insurers to create an insurance ecosystem that offers a range of product options to meet the different needs of Viettel’s customers. In a seamless experience within the MyViettel app, customers can now access the new insurance offering via the home page of the app and view options in a few clicks.

Chien Ta, bolttech Vietnam’s CEO, believes that their partnership with Viettel Telecom, a leading telecommunications provider in Vietnam, is an important milestone for bolttech. 

“By embedding an insurance platform into the Viettel customer experience, we can reach more customers in Vietnam with a choice of insurance to meet their needs and the convenience to access these products in a simple, easy way,” said Ta.

bolttech said that this partnership is another step in its partner-led expansion strategy for the market.