Testing...testing...is this thing on?
The Overseas wants to amplify South East Asia's innovators, movers and shakers to the rest of the world.
Wave hello👋 to The Overseas, a newsletter about business and technology stories from South East Asia (SEA).
Stories from the Global North continue to dominate the media landscape, leaving the innovation that’s happening in the rest of the world to be overlooked.
The Overseas cuts through that noise by diving into SEA’s tech sector, from its movers and shakers, to its early-stage disruptors.
In addition to bi-weekly curated lists of stories from other outlets, The Overseas will publish one feature story each month with my original reporting. As I finish school this year, I anticipate that I’ll be able to hike those numbers with more free time. :)
For now, here are the top business and technology stories from South East Asia in the past month.
Five ASEAN central banks sign MOU to establish cross-border payments across the region
Stefanno Sulaiman and Ananda Teresia for Reuters
The central banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and Singapore have signed a memorandum of understanding for regional cross-border payments ahead of the G20 summit in Bali.
Indonesia’s central bank governor Perry Warjiyo said the agreement covers connecting retail payment systems, though there were plans to step up the partnership to the wholesale level and the central bank digital currencies.
Singapore’s ecommerce giant Shopee has laid off 7,000 people in the last six months
Brittney Toh for Business Insider
Shopee, Singapore’s ecommerce giant with a global reach across the SEA region, has cut 7,000 jobs in the last six months. This downsizing amounts to roughly 10 percent of its workforce.
Shopee’s parent company Sea Limited shared a statement with Insider that said the layoffs were part of its strategy to optimize operating efficiency.
Sea Limited, which also owns video game company Garena and payment processing firm Airpay, has seen its stock price on the New York Stock Exchange decline by 76 percent year to date.
How Cambodia’s scam mills recruit “cyber slave” workers
Danielle Keeton-Olsen and Lam Nguyen for Rest of World
Linh Ne is reportedly a worker at a fraudulent investment app operating in a gambling town in Cambodia. She told Rest of World her account of being trafficked into the country two years ago, and how the scam compounds she’s worked in were “shadow businesses of online gambling and fraudulent apps tucked behind the town’s casinos, extorting victims based anywhere from the U.S. to neighboring Vietnam.”
Indonesia SaaS giant GoTo Group slashes 1,300 jobs
Olivia Poh for Bloomberg News
In an effort to curtail expenses and pacify investor concerns over mounting losses, Indonesia’s SaaS giant GoTo Group announced it has cut 1,300 people from its workforce.
Formed through a merger of ride-hailing provider Gojek and e-commerce firm Tokopedia, GoTo’s product suite comprises on-demand transport, e-commerce, food and grocery delivery, logistics and fulfillment, and financial services. It went public earlier this year on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, and its shares have declined nearly 40 percent since.
Humble Sustainability raises $750,000 seed round to keep excess retail inventory out of landfills
Catherine Shu for TechCrunch
Manila-based Humble Sustainability, which works with retailers to minimize waste from excess inventory and returns, has closed a $750,000 USD seed round. The funding was led by Seedstars International Ventures, with participation from several angel investors.
Established last year by CEO Josef Werker and COO Niña Opida, Humble aims to keep unwanted items from landfills by listing the items on Thrift, or selling them in bulk to its B2B platform. The Filipino startup plans to use the capital to bring its tech development fully in-house. Humble aims to launch a live dashboard on the platform for clients to track revenue, inventory, and environmental impact in real-time.
Grab reports narrower losses, breaks even in deliveries segment for the first time in a decade
Sheila Chiang for CNBC
Singapore-headquartered ride-hailing and food delivery company Giant has seen narrower losses and broke even in its deliveries segment for the first time since 2012, according to its third-quarter earnings report.
The company said its delivery business broke even three quarters ahead of expectations, “primarily due to optimization of our incentive spend, and contributions from Jaya Grocer.” In January, Grab acquired a majority stake in Malaysian mass-premium supermarket chain Jaya Grocer.
Vietnamese financial services firm F88 secures $60 million loan amid turbulent fundraising environments
Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc for DealStreetAsia
F88 has secured $60 million in debt from Lending Ark Asia Secured Private Debt Funds and Lendable. Lending Ark contributed $50 million, while Lendable provided $10 million. Lendable previously extended $10 million in financing to F88 earlier this year.
Headquartered in Vietnam, F88 was initially founded as a pawnshop chain and has since expanded to become a microfinance business to offer services such as loans, insurance, bill payment, deposits, withdrawals, and e-wallet money transfers.
Archipelago Labs launches $10 million fund for Filipino Web3, crypto startups
Acquah Nana Yeboah for Techloy
Philippines-based startup accelerator Archipelago Labs (A-Labs) has launched a $10 million fund to invest in Web3 and crypto startups in the country. The accelerator is backed by the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), Oak Drive Ventures Inc., and Magellan Digital Investment Group (MDIG).
By the end of 2022, A-Labs aims to release its first-ever quarterly report on all things Web3 in the Philippines. Next year, the accelerator program will run its first cohort for the Archipelago Labs Accelerator Block (ALAB).
Thai retail tech startup Beam closes $2.5 million seed round
Fintech Finance News
Beam, a Thailand-based startup that provides a one-click checkout solution, has announced it raised $2.5 million USD in seed funding led by Surge—Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia’s rapid scale-up program.
Founded by Nattapat Chaimanowong, Mike Chinakrit Piamchon, and Win Vareekasem, Beam claims its plug-and-play product allows for more payment options including cards, e-wallets, and buy now pay later payments.
Filipino cleantech startup Nanotronics wins grand prize in Shell’s global competition
Dhel Nazario for Manila Bulletin
Nanotronics, a cleantech startup backed by the Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology, has won the grand prize of a global competition presented by Shell’s enterprise development arm.
The Filipino startup was awarded the top prize for the Business Innovation Category, Top Ten Innovators for Shell liveWIRE global. Nanotronics beat 203 entries coming from 22 countries.
Through its project with the federal government, the company is developing sustainable material solutions for packaging applications intended for the fast-moving consumer goods industry (e.g. toilet paper, milk, soda cans).
If you like what you see so far, please consider a subscription to The Overseas.