What’s Happening Here? Lazada has launched new products such as in-app live streaming and games, and is investing heavily in logistics, technology and payments to accelerate the growth of the third-party merchants that it works with. What Does This Mean? Lazada, which started in 2012 before being acquired by Alibaba in 2016, is doubling down on its efforts…

The general economic climate today is one that consists of rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China, European political uncertainties and ongoing Brexit discussions, as well as rising interest rates and slowing global growth. In fact, a poll of top managers (chairmen, chief executives and managing directors) by Citibank and Singapore’s Business Times indicated…

The Venture Capital (VC) industry is one that has seen considerable growth in the last decade and experienced gradual increase in deal sizes. More importantly, this growth was also contributed by the more nascent Southeast Asian region. For example, of the five major deals above US$1 billion globally in Q1’2018, two are Southeast Asian i.e.,…

The Venture Capital (VC) industry is one that has seen considerable growth in the last decade and experienced gradual increase in deal sizes. More importantly, this growth was also contributed by the more nascent Southeast Asian region. For example, of the five major deals above US$1 billion globally in Q1’2018, two are Southeast Asian i.e.,…

It’s been quite a journey for the crypto world. Promises of swings that mirror Bitcoin’s meteoric rise to success seem to have fizzled out as markets become cautious and regulators of many developed countries take a stand. We look at Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) and how they have emerged as an alternative to traditional methods…

As Asian powerhouses such as Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong steadily strengthen their respective startup ecosystems, potential contenders of the likes of Brunei have begun to emerge on the scene. Brunei has been known as a wealthy nation but has stayed somewhat under the radar for the advancement of its startup scene. We look…

With its startup ecosystem stabilising over the span of the last year, India is quickly emerging as a dark horse that the region can hardly afford to ignore. Singapore has joined the list of nations that has begun to pay attention to its entrepreneurial sector, recently signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to foster collaborations…

In the next few decades, we will all be witnessing the largest-ever intergenerational wealth transfer – the passing down of wealth from one generation to the next – a phenomenon happening across the globe valued in the trillions of dollars. Specifically, in Asia, this is happening for the first time and on a massive scale,…

It was seemingly done and dusted even before the official announcement. The grapevine encompassing reliable driver-rider conversations had already been filled with chatter of Uber gracefully bowing out of several Southeast Asian regions for ‘strategic’ reasons, much akin to their exit from China’s ride hailing market: Overall sentiment towards the deal The deal – that…

South Korea has created a fertile environment for its entrepreneurial ecosystem, bolstered largely by factors such as sound governmental support, relative economic stability, and advanced tech infrastructure. These invaluable attributes have been further strengthened by healthy support from South Korean giants such as Hyundai and Samsung, facilitating and accelerating growth of startups with their programmes.…

The latest spate of regulations implemented by Facebook will change the way businesses, in particular startups as well as SMEs, reach their target audiences: Gone are the days where bootstrapping entrepreneurs were required to set aside a considerable sum of capital towards traditional advertising channels. With the advent of social media and the propensity for…

Singapore’s gaming industry is gaining considerable momentum, deserving considerable attention. Singaporean investors’ interest have certainly been piqued during the last couple of months, with news of SEA’s (previously known as Garena) and Razer’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) flooding the market. The Singapore-based digital entertainment giants lead headlines with their high profiled backings – SEA by…

Earlier this month, Uber announced the cessation of its operations in China with a takeover by Didi Chuxing for US$35 billion. Despite spending a considerable amount of money in the country, China proved to be a great wall that could not be conquered. Uber now joins the ranks of Google, eBay and Facebook, American companies…

The last decade has seen a rise in greentech advancements. This is largely due to society’s insistence on social responsibility and overall global awareness. From the installation of solar panels, recycling efforts by large corporations as well as electric cars to hydro-powered plants, smart homes and buildings made of environmentally friendly materials, the term “greentech” has become synonymous with efforts to contribute…

We take look at the implications of the recent news revolving around Singapore Banks allegedly closing cryptocurrency-related accounts: The issue In line with the usual uproar that comes with any authoritative measures threatening to disrupt the business world, major publications have had a field day with this one. It was reported in mid-September that local…

Following the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)’s release of its annual report for 2016-2017 at the end of June, we examine the changing landscape within the finance industry below: Key findings of the report signified a changing demand for new positions in the banking sector that did not exist previously. Interestingly, jobs within the industry…

Following Travis Kalanick’s ousting from his position as CEO of the ride-hailing company, people have been questioning the future of Uber. Specifically, who will replace Kalanick, and how will the new CEO bring about the much-needed change in Uber’s corporate culture? What’s going to be the next phase in the Uber evolution? A Rudderless Ship…

The 2017 National Day Rally focused on three crucial points, one of them being the need for Singapore to step-up in its adoption of technology, in particular, the area of cashless payments: The Prime Minister (PM) of Singapore mentioned that although our nation has all the right ingredients to fulfil the Smart Nation Initiative, we…

It’s been quite a wait for Singaporeans. We look at the entry of the e-commerce behemoth, Amazon Prime Singapore, and its implications on the already weakening local retail industry: The Background Amazon launched its Prime Now service in Singapore on 27 July, signifying the giant’s first foray into the Southeast Asian market. Prime Now will…

In March, the tech industry saw its first Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the year by social media platform, Snapchat’s parent company, Snap Inc. While they’ve enjoyed minimal fluctuations in the first months of its IPO, the company’s shares have since fallen. The decline was further exacerbated by the end of the IPO’s lockup period.…

India is a country renowned for its bustling startup industry and the immense number of talented tech professionals. On top of this, their huge population and BRICS status makes it a very attractive destination for VC investment. Here, we’ll be looking into the country’s growth to determine if India’s startup industry is a good place…

Lapses in the private banking and wealth management compliance have been brought into the spotlight. Money laundering and tax evasion scandals bring to question, are we doing enough for compliance and regulation? Wealth management and private banking have taken a hit in recent months. Sensational exposés revealing unregulated laundering and tax evasion, and the rise…

Your business is up-and-running smoothly for a number of years. You have more than healthy financials and processes all in place. This perfect scenario often involves considerations of an exit strategy. There are several ways in which a particular business can exit. Each one depends on how the venture is going to be running at…

A lot of buzz has been going around about the rise of social commerce. It is the new marketplace for digital consumers. Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram have begun rolling out ‘Shop Now’ buttons. You can now transact directly through social media sites. Combining monetary transactions with social transactions (likes, comments, reviews, videos,…

Global startup communities and out-of-this-world valuations have been all the buzz over the last several years. We take a look at five startup pitch tips that are must-haves in that all important presentation to prospective investors. BE SUCCINCT & GET TO THE POINT, FAST! Investors go through a multitude of hopefuls looking for their big…

Among all the glitz and glamour surrounding the entrepreneurial world, one thing that newbies don’t always acknowledge is that the startup world is an unforgiving one. The entrepreneurial world needs to be scaled and charted with caution. Prepare yourself for a range of issues that may arise during your journey. We take a look at…

Despite all the buzz around fintech over the past few years, innovation in private banking and wealth management sectors have been slow to develop new technologies to improve their efficiency and productivity. A recent report on the wealth management sector by Deloitte presents a few key findings in support of this view. Over the past…

The technology and innovation spheres are ones that never seize to amaze. Just as one thinks that he or she has seen it all, a new gadget, application or concept enters the market to make one’s life even easier (and usually more interesting). The healthcare industry is one of those that has much to benefit…

The finance world – always porous to any new investment model that brings above-average returns. Over the last several years they have paid particular attention to non-traditional alternative investments to park one’s money in. Wines Although a heavily consumed commodity across several cultures, wines have also always taken on the tone of a luxury good.…

Last year proved to be a great year for venture capital and tech startups. In terms of funding, 2016 was nothing short of stellar for Singapore. A total of US$3.5 billion worth of private equity and VC investments were raised, the highest recorded in the past five years. We witnessed multiple successful exits via IPOs…

Virtual Reality in 2017 Virtual reality has been cited as the next big thing throughout 2016. Have we finally reached the apex where VR and AR will become as ingratiated into our lives as smartphones? Looking at the latest developments in the field, it looks like the summit is still a little further ahead on…

Brexit threatens London’s position as top FinTech hub Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2016, Britain’s economic secretary to the treasury, Simon Kirby, acknowledged the fact that Brexit may have given Singapore an opening to lure talent away from the UK. He also revealed that they are making efforts to maintain access to European markets in…

2016 Singapore Fintech Festival Round-up The conclusion of Singapore’s inaugural FinTech Festival, held on 14 to 18 November, cemented the country’s position as a FinTech hub which facilitates and supports the growth of FinTech startups. The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s endorsement of the event showed that the Singaporean government, as with the rest of the…

Stripe announced their official launch in Asia on 20 September 2016, with Singapore as their very first market in the region. The decision to have the city-state as their door into the region comes as no surprise. Singapore has one of the most reputable financial and trading centres in the world. Over the past few…

Joyful Frog Digital Innovation (JFDI) recently announced the cessation of their accelerator program and rumours swirling about the potential closure of SPH Plug and Play. Over the past couple of years, we have seen over 15 accelerators sprout up in Singapore. The startup ecosystem has seen tremendous support from financial institutions, government bodies and international organisations. With such…

Unlike mainstream crowd funding, crowd funding for non-profit causes such as Dreamfuel leaves backers with at most, memorabilia signed by the athlete being backed, or even nothing at all save for goodwill and the knowledge you have helped fuel someone’s dream. There is no equity to purchase. No new product that can be purchased at…

The Simplex Equities Futures Strategy Fund gained 3.4% in a single day when the Brexit vote signalled the UK’s departure from the EU. However, fund manager Yoshinori Nomura wasn’t the one who predicted it. Rather, it was his AI program that did. Fund managers can now entrust their software to not only analyse copious amounts of data,…

The biggest search engine in the late 90s, Yahoo!, lost its position to the current behemoth, Google. Nokia, once THE go-to brand for mobile phones, became redundant when it failed to keep up with the emergence of smartphone technology. Complacency and stagnation are the silent killers of innovation. Left unchecked, these tendencies can lead to…

Innovative. Disruptive. Big. These are the common words thrown around to describe Fintech companies in the start-up scene. But why is Fintech big? The answer is two-fold; firstly, the financial services are one of the largest industries in the world. Its omnipresent nature is due to the ever growing need for financial services. These include…

While many of us stare at our word document and excel sheets on the computer, or check our Whatsapp and Facebook on our phones, there is another side of that machine that you may not see. That’s right – the digital gaming market is alive and booming. You may wonder, “Games? Blah, not worth my…

The following commentary is based on this Bloomberg article on Future Finance, a start-up that lends money online (up to £40k per applicant) to students in the UK. The minimum amount of loan is £2.5k and the company has disbursed £25 million so far. Let’s make some quick calculations – assuming all successful applicants take on the minimum amount of loan (£2,500), that…

We, at Golden Equator Capital, are always on the lookout for the hottest new start-up with the vision to change the world. With more and more of these ground-breaking innovations coming out of Asia, we’re excited to witness the growth of Asian tech companies that will take the world by storm. Here are a few…

Recently, stock prices for tech companies have taken a beating. Even more so than the overall market indices. For example, Linkedin share prices have declined 40%, Apple has dropped 21 percent and during the same period. The “new tech” FANG stocks — Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and the Google unit of Alphabet — have also fallen…

The recent announcement of Singapore-based startup, Carousell, raising a US$35 million series B round was one of the largest in the mobile classifieds industry. Led by Rakuten Ventures (the investment arm of the Rakuten Group), the sheer size of the investment comes as a surprise move, seeing how Rakuten, an e-commerce platform, is described by industry…

At DealStreetAsia’s PEVC summit on 30 September 2016, CEO of DBS Group, Piyush Gupta, made sure to highlight that financial services incumbents are still in a solid position to serve, and that FinTech startup firms need not necessarily be at loggerheads with them. Piyush is far from the only advocate. His sentiments are in line with…

This Wall Street Journal article on how McDonald’s has aligned its happy meal box with Virtual Reality (VR) is just one of many indicators that VR technology is rapidly incorporating itself into our everyday lives. With tech giants like Facebook, Google and Sony investing significant time and resources into the development of VR technology, it seems like VR is more than just…

Mogujie (a company on the Fortune’s unicorn list) is buying Tencent-backed Meilishuo to form a new company worth about US$2.5 billion. New funds will be raised to bring the total valuation up to US$3 billion. This is merely one of the many mergers and acquisitions that we are seeing in the startup industry. Just like…

Sleep is a concept that we take it for granted due to our hectic schedules, yet it is essential to our long-term health and well-being. In recent years, there were many studies published that extolls the values of power napping. Benefits include sharpening one’s focus, boosting one’s creativity as well as mitigating the effects of…