Even Grab is jumping into the subscription model

Dear readers,

2019 is the year of subscriptions. It’s the next big hope to save journalism from bleeding. Various Netflix competitors are in the works – including Disney+. For Grab, it’s turning out to be a crucial strategy to help it win Southeast Asia, we reported.

In that detailed piece – which got quite a lot of traction last week – we examine why the subscription model is compelling, and how it fits into the bigger picture within Grab. Gone are the days of rampant subsidies – it’s all about incentivizing repeat engagements now.

If you’d like to stay on the pulse of developments at Asia’s tech unicorns, do consider subscribing to Tech in Asia. Shopee’s earnings are coming up this week, and I’m excited to present what we have planned.

Check out the rest of the subscriber exclusives in the past week:

• With Softbank funding, Oyo’s outsized ambitions now extend beyond hotel bookings
• These gym pods could give traditional ones a run for their money
• Why I’m a bad investor’: China’s Elon Musk, Li Xiang
• AsmaraKu is gaining ground selling condoms and lube in Muslim-majority Indonesia
• Rising SE Asian startups this week: a near-unicorn, a Sequoia-backed telco
• What it takes to be a co-founder and COO of a multibillion-dollar company
• 500 Startups-backed HelloGold is the first Shariah-compliant gold trading platform

Cheers,

Terence
Chief editor