Photo credit: Ion Chiosea / 123RF.
From Amazon’s entry to tech leaders’ market debuts and the region’s biggest investments, here’s the rundown of the top tech news that made a splash in Southeast Asia this year (in no particular order).
1. Dave McClure’s fall
The year saw a wave of sexual harassment stories sweep industries across the world. Before the scandal involving Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein broke out, a flood of women in tech came forward with their experiences at the hands of powerful men. Among them was entrepreneur Cheryl Yeoh, who accused prolific Silicon Valley investor Dave McClure of sexual assault.
Yeoh, the former CEO of Malaysian innovation agency Magic, claimed McClure propositioned her several times, pushed himself against her, and kissed her against her will in her own apartment in 2014.
Yeoh broke her silence on the incident after another woman, who runs a fitness startup in the US, alleged in a New York Times exposé that McClure sexually harassed her.
The accusations led to a reduction of McClure’s responsibilities at 500 Startups, the VC firm he co-founded, and eventually forced him to quit.
2. Back-to-back public debuts
Southeast Asia’s startup community kept a close watch on the initial public offerings of PC gear maker Razer and Tencent-owned games company Sea late this year.
Based both in San Francisco and Singapore, Razer was well received at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in November, surging on the first day of trading due to bullish outlook on the company’s sales.
The company, backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, raised US$530 million, which it would use to expand into new verticals, including mobile devices. It unveiled its first smartphone a week before its market debut.
It doesn’t seem like the company will end on a high note at HKEX this year however, as it currently trades below IPO price.
Razer’s listing quickly followed that of Sea’s, which has been viewed as a test of how public markets treat tech firms that have amassed users but are still waiting to turn profitable.
Sea listed on the New York Stock Exchange in October, raising US$884 million. The stock had a rocky start, falling below its IPO price of US$15. Analysts said investors might be jittery about Sea’s future given heavy losses.
Sea listed on NYSE. Photo credit: NYSE.
3. Amazon’s grand entrance
4. Alibaba’s shopping spree
5. US giant bets on Indonesia
6. The first Filipino unicorn
7. Uber’s cunning tactics
8. Uber gets in bed with Singapore’s largest taxi company
9. Malaysia opens digital free trade zone
10. Grab’s massive war chest
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