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Hi there,
One of my favorite guilty pleasures is watching overly intensified courtroom dramas.
Take Jack Nicholson’s iconic line “You can’t handle the truth!” from the movie A Few Good Men, or Paul Newman in The Verdict, where he talks about big ideas like faith and power instead of just the facts of the case.
It’s like being right there in the courtroom, feeling all the ups and downs with the characters.
Reading a deposition of Dennis Nguyen, co-founder and CEO of Vietnamese tech firm Society Pass, in an ongoing legal feud involving the company and one of its co-founders, former CMO Thomas O’Connor, gave me a glimpse into the drama unfolding in a real courtroom. Recently, the New York Supreme Court awarded pre-IPO shares worth US$6.6 million to O’Connor. However, Society Pass has filed for an appeal.
But this case aside, in the first Big Story, I look at the number of lawsuits that Society Pass is dealing with and how they’re weighing down on the company’s finances.
In the second Big Story, my colleague Emmanuel dissects the foray of Malaysia’s major automotive players, Proton and Perodua, into the local electric vehicle market to meet the targets set by the government. The story explores if Malaysia’s dream of cheap EVs and high adoption can be achieved.
Shifting gears, my colleague Putra has an exclusive interview with David Su, managing partner at Matrix Partners China, in this week’s Making Waves. It dives into the VC firm’s tech strategies for Southeast Asia.
But first, the Big Stories.
— Deepti
THE BIG STORIES
1️⃣Legal troubles cast doubts on Nasdaq-listed Society Pass’ future
The company has just US$10.9 million in cash reserves, and concerns are growing on the impact its mounting legal battles will have on its operations.
MAKING WAVES
FYI
NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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