In Parts 1 and 2, I wrote about how digital infrastructure is being developed in Thailand, which is a good proxy for digital infrastructure SE Asia. I also wrote about my interview with Huawei Thailand CEO Abel Deng (see below). In this part, I’ll detail Huawei’s 4 big initiatives in Thailand. And this is pretty […]
In Part 1 and a podcast, I covered the history of Huawei in Thailand and my interview with Huawei Thailand CEO Abel Deng. In this part, I’ll go into the development of digital infrastructure in SE Asia. This is one of the big determinants for rate of growth. And Thailand has, by many measures, emerged as […]
In Part 1, I laid out some basic theory about marketplace platforms for services, which is a fascinating interesting subject. And it is much more complicated than marketplaces for products. Ecommerce for services just has a much longer development pathway. As ecommerce and marketplaces move into more complicated services, such as medical care, legal and […]
GoTo is a digital platform that combines the services of two of Indonesia’s largest tech companies: Gojek and Tokopedia. The company has a strong presence in the country’s e-commerce and ride-hailing markets, and it is growing rapidly. However, GoTo faces stiff competition from other tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent.
The recently merged Gojek and Tokopedia (i.e., GoTo) has gone public in Indonesia. And I finally got a look at their filings (thanks to a subscriber who sent me a translated copy). GoTo is basically what you would expect. It’s a marketplace platform for local services (i.e., Gojek) combined with a marketplace for products (i.e., […]
Southeast Asian tech giant Grab is facing a difficult choice: should it focus on profitability or growth? This article explores the pros and cons of each strategy and discusses the potential outcomes for Grab. Ultimately, the decision of whether to focus on profitability or growth will depend on a number of factors, including the company’s financial situation, its competitive landscape, and its long-term goals.
Southeast Asia unicorn Grab is now public via a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp. The company trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “GRAB”. This is a really interesting company. There is a tremendous amount to like about its business. It has 2-3 platform business models that have strong-to-dominant positions in SE Asia: […]
In the past 3-4 months, Sea Limited stock price has fallen from $350 to $90 per share. That is interesting. The business model is as formidable as ever. It benefits from compelling long-term consumer spending growth trends in both SE Asia and Latin America. And, unlike Alibaba, Sea Limited is in +9 countries and is […]
Sea Limited is rocking and rolling. Jumping from gaming to ecommerce. Then to payment and financial services. And now to Mexico. There is a growing public consensus that the Sea management team is extraordinarily effective. That’s cool. But it would have been much better to know that two years ago, when the stock was much […]
Last week, I attended a media event at JD Central in Bangkok. And I interviewed CEO Vincent Yang. This is JD’s joint venture with Central Retail, one of Thailand largest retailers. Note: This is one of JD’s two initiatives in Southeast Asia. The other is in Indonesia. It was a pretty interesting experience for a […]