Here’s what you might’ve missed in Southeast Asian tech

Photo credit: Go-Jek.

JD invests in Go-Jek and eyes Thailand expansion, Grab earmarks Myanmar growth, and Amazon Prime Now is dethroned as Singapore’s top shopping app. Here’s some of the big news from Southeast Asia’s tech and startup ecosystem over the last seven days.

Indonesia

Pundi-Pundi payment QR code displayed at one of its merchants. Photo credit: Pundi-Pundi.

JD invests in Go-Jek. The Chinese ecommerce giant confirmed that it invested in the Indonesian ride-hailing company last week. Go-Jek is said to be working on a funding round worth about US$1.2 billion, with Tencent among the reported participants. (Tech in Asia)

Supreme Court throws out ride-hailing rules. The country’s highest court ruled that key parts of the recently introduced regulatory framework for ride-hailing services conflicted with existing laws concerning small businesses and the transportation sector. The ruling will come as a relief to the likes of Go-Jek, Grab, and Uber, which were faced with having to significantly revise their operations to achieve compliance. (Tech in Asia)

Alipay-style platform gets $4m funding for regional expansion. Jakarta-based mobile-payments and micro-loan startup Pundi-Pundi disclosed US$4 million in pre-series A funding from an unnamed Chinese tech company. It offers a scan-to-pay service similar to Alipay’s, as well as a micro-credit system that lets its users keep a balance of under US$40. (TechCrunch)

Singapore

Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan (L) and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (R). Photo credit: Razer, Jim Mattis. Montage by Tech in Asia.

Wish overtakes Amazon Prime Now as top shopping app. Mobile app ranking data indicates that Prime Now has lost its crown as Singapore’s top shopping app, after leading the rankings since its launch in the city-state last month. Direct-from-manufacturer retailer Wish – itself rumored to be an Amazon acquisition target, valued at US$10 billion – is now in the top spot. (Tech in Asia)

Uber in partnership talks with Singapore’s biggest taxi company. The US ride-hailing giant is negotiating a tie-up with ComfortDelGro that could make over 15,000 taxis available through its app. A number of other local taxi companies have already teamed up with Grab, Uber’s main rival in the country. (Tech in Asia)

Prime minister and Razer CEO network over Twitter. After tweeting about Singapore’s need for a unified online payments system, the country’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong got a reply from Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan who said his company could roll out a solution within 18 months. Lee said that he would study any proposal seriously. (Tech in Asia)

Myanmar

A taxi driver in Yangon. Photo credit: rolf52 / 123RF.

Thailand