Hi there, it’s Khamila from Jakarta.
The race to become Southeast Asia’s first super-app continues between Grab and Go-Jek. After Grab announced new features for Singapore last week, Indonesian on-demand unicorn Go-Jek also quietly introduced additional features to serve a wider range of users.
Go-Jek’s new offerings
Indonesians rely heavily on messaging app for their daily communication and Go-Jek is now equipped with a chat feature that allows users to exchange personal messages. The feature is also integrated with Go-Pay so users can split bills, transfer or request Go-Pay credit.
Go-Jek also collaborated with online travel agent Tiket.com to launch a travel feature named Go-Travel where you can book hotel rooms using Go-Jek’s main app. It’s likely that Go-Jek will add more services in the future like flight and train tickets because these are also available on Tiket.com.
Compared to its competitor Ovo–Grab’s payment partner in Indonesia–Go-Jek’s fintech arm Go-Pay doesn’t seem to be too aggressive in exploring financial products just yet. Go-Pay’s first move in expanding its financial services is the collaboration with mutual funds platform Bibit. The partnership allows Go-Pay’s users to invest through Bibit by using Go-Pay credit although it is not clear whether Go-Pay will provide the investment feature on its platform.
Total loan disbursements from online lending
Total loan disbursement by online lenders in Indonesia reached USD 1.58 billion, according to the 2018 Annual Member Report by Indonesia’s fintech association.
The total transaction value of digital payment platforms in Indonesia reached USD 3.29 billion and both figures grew significantly from the year before. These are indicators to keep an eye on.
Southeast Asia
More SEA-based venture capitals are keen to boost startups’ growth in the region. Earlier this week, Singaporean early-stage VC Jungle Ventures raised USD 175 million in the first close for its third fund.
Jungle Ventures has done five deals out of the new fund so far, with two in Indonesia, one in Malaysia, and its first investment in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ conglomerate Ayala Corporation will be launching a new fund with at least USD 150 million to invest in early-stage startups in Asia and around the world.
In Thailand, Grab is on track to roll out its food delivery service in six new cities with the help of minority shareholder Central Group. GrabFood faces strong competition in Thailand from food delivery operators like Go-Jek’s Get, Foodpanda, Line Man, and Now Food Delivery, so the new expansion is expected to boost Grab Food’s growth in the country.
China
It’s an interesting time for the electric vehicle sector in China. Government subsidies aren’t as plentiful, cars keep catching on fire. Yet sales continue to grow. Even cash-strapped EV maker Faraday Future was able to secure USD 225 million which gives it a shot at finally mass producing its electric vehicles.
Earlier this week, China’s e-commerce behemoth Alibaba had a meeting with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, resulting in Alibaba settling a federal securities class action lawsuit with USD 250 million.
Tencent revealed that it has submitted over 30,000 patent applications worldwide, with over 10,000 successfully granted. This makes it the top-ranked tech company in China by patent applications, and the second among global internet companies, after Google.
More from China
(AI) Sogou to develop Arabic-speaking AI news anchor for the Middle East
(Bike-sharing) Guangzhou invites bike-sharing platforms to run the city’s bike scheme
(Ride-hailing) Didi enters Colombia and Chile as it steps up Latin American expansion
(Retail) JD Logistics extends its personal delivery service to 50 cities in China
(Lending) Ant Financial sells out its stake in micro-lender Qudian.
More news from Southeast Asia
(Video Streaming) Indonesia teams up with TikTok to boost tourism
(Video Streaming) YY’s Like is now among the top ten apps in Indonesia
(Ride-hailing) Indonesia brings regulations for on-demand motorcycle taxis into effect
Interviews and Insights
Grace Natalia of Asmaraku on breaking traditions: Women in Tech
Sofian Hadiwijaya of Warung Pintar, Transforming traditional kiosks: Startup Stories
Ankur Mehrotra of Grab Financial: 20x the market opportunity of ride-hailing