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In focus
- Line Man Wongnai goes head-to-head with Grab
- A look back on Thailand’s fintech landscape
- Nvidia joins the giant seed round of Periodic Labs
Hello reader,
Here in Manila, having food delivered has become synonymous with having it “Grabbed.” The Singapore-based platform has become so entrenched into Filipinos’ lifestyles that it has become a verb – something all marketing heads would love to achieve.
So I was surprised to learn that this isn’t the case in Thailand. A local on-demand delivery service called Line Man Wongnai is competing head-to-head with the regional giant.
In 2024, Line Man Wongnai recorded almost half a billion US dollars in revenue. But it’s yet to turn its multimillion operations into a profitable venture.
The company’s strategic investments in its digital wallet service dragged the business into a net loss, up 18% year on year.
Its deeper dive into fintech services seems aligned with how Grab operates. The latter’s financial services segment grew the fastest in the previous quarter.
Can Line Man Wongnai join its competitor in the black? We will have to wait and see.
Elyssa Lopez, journalist
Top Story
Line Man Wongnai eyes food delivery crown as fintech push deepens
Photo credit: John And Penny / Shutterstock
Line Man Wongnai continued its strong revenue performance, closing 2024 with US$451 million. Its CEO is optimistic that the company will surpass Grab in gross merchandise value for food delivery in Thailand by the end of 2025.
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