The rise and rise of Southeast Asia’s tech M&A

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Hello readers,

Need an excuse to procrastinate on a Monday? Then dive into our cheat sheet of all the tech acquisitions that took place in Southeast Asia since 2006! We share all the deets of over 300 deals, from the top startup acquirer to the leading vertical.

You can jump straight into the full piece here or scroll down for a short summary.

But first, your quick bytes for today:

1️⃣ Tencent shares plummet

The Chinese tech company lost more than US$75 billion in value last Friday after the US released an order that prohibits business dealings with short-video app TikTok and messaging and social media app WeChat. Nonetheless, Tencent is still a US$650 billion goliath, so the ban looks like it’s just a small hiccup.

2️⃣ Telemarketers get more annoying in China

Robots are taking over the country’s telemarketing industry. Not only are they able to “make over 3,000 phone calls a day,” but they can also reply to questions while sounding very human-like.

3️⃣ Facebook, Disney, and TikTok to pay tax in Indonesia

More technology firms are now required to pay the 10% value-added tax in Indonesia. Imposed last month, the VAT on sales has already affected companies like Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, and Google.

4️⃣ Microsoft in talks to invest in Sharechat

The US titan might be investing US$100 million in Indian social media platform Sharechat, which launched short-video app Moj the day after TikTok was banned in India. Interestingly, Microsoft is currently in talks to buy TikTok.

5️⃣ Ucommune withdraws US IPO

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