We broke a big story on Christmas week. We didn’t anticipate the response

Dear readers,

Happy 2019! I hope the past year has been great for you, and I look forward to another year of serving you even more insightful content.

2018 certainly felt long for me. A lot happened in the world and at Tech in Asia. It’s why I’m grateful for the holidays – it’s good to slow down, reflect, and catch up on some books (psst scroll down to see what I’ve been reading).

But even as we were preparing for office closure, our dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. People were flocking to this story: Shopee overtakes Lazada and Tokopedia to claim Southeast Asia’s ecommerce crown.

It was a development hidden in plain sight. Shopee had made a claim in their earnings call, but we were the only media to dig deep into it.

In this story, we examined the claim. We spoke to various parties and looked at data – both public and private. We sketched out the reasons behind the rise. We listed the caveats – Shopee is still highly unprofitable.

The hours of work that stretched over two weeks paid off. There were critics, of course: Many people, especially in Singapore, couldn’t believe the claim. But it’s our job to burst bubbles: Singapore does not speak for the rest of the region.

As we get more resources, we hope to do more of such stories in the coming year (subscribe to help us make it happen). Here’s a recap of the other subscriber exclusives you may have missed:

1. How Topica overcame early struggles to become Southeast Asia’s biggest edtech firm

We’re the only ones that went in-depth into Topica’s journey.

2. Meet the 20 top-funded startups and tech companies in Indonesia

We’re making all our automated and data-driven lists – a useful resource for recruiters, salespeople, and investors alike – subscriber-only. We don’t think anyone’s doing bread-and-butter content like us.

3. Rising SE Asian startups this week: Marketplaces, edtech, gig economy, and more

Funding Societies co-founders Reynold Wijaya (L) and Kelvin Teo (R) / Photo credit: Funding Societies

Our weekly compilation of startups you should check out.

4. Why China’s tech giants are all restructuring this year

Photo credit: Wu Yi on Unsplash

A lot of upheaval in China.

5. A brief history of China’s biggest tech booms and busts

Mobike, Ofo, and Hellobike seen in Hangzhou, China / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

A trip down memory lane. Remember group buying?

6. The app with a 28-minute fix for China’s healthcare system

Photo credit: Pixabay.

Will China’s tech-enabled healthcare services be an indication of where the world is headed?

P.S: Here’s what I’d been reading. I wholly recommend them:

• Culture Code: A look into how to build successful group cultures at work
• Neither Civil Nor Servant: the biography of a maverick civil servant
• Children of Time: an awe-inspiring, imaginative, and moving sci-fi epic.