Sea Group’s cup runneth over (into another cup)

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Hello readers,

Have you ever told a killer joke in class, only to have your glory stolen by your friend who just repeats the same joke, but louder? Everyone laughs and your friend gets all the credit while you just sit there with zero social capital gain.

(Of course I remember, Timothy. I will never forget.)

That looks to be what Sea Group is doing with its establishment of Sea Capital, a platform for managing its investment efforts. This seems to follow the footsteps of Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent, and Sea Group’s initial allocation of US$1 billion to the new platform makes this unit already larger than many other venture funds in the region.

Sea Group has earned its position, though, if its stellar Q4 2020 financial results are any indication. Check them out in our deep dive into its latest numbers.

Today, we look at:

• Sea Group’s strong figures from Q4 2020
• The expansion plans of Singapore-based e-scooter startup Neuron Mobility
• Other newsy highlights such as Google promising no more traffic-tracking tech, and so close yet still so far for SpaceX’s latest spacecraft

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Sea Group is going from strength to strength

Sea’s latest numbers look as deep and wide as the sea. The company reported group revenue and gross profits for 2020 of US$4.4 billion and US$1.3 billion respectively, more than doubling those from 2019.

Plus, group EBITDA was US$107 million for 2020, the first year Sea has enjoyed positive EBITDA as a listed company.

• More to come? The tech giant’s forecast for 2021 stands out in particular: It expects group revenue to more than double yet again, with the digital entertainment and ecommerce segments alone expected to generate a combined revenue of around US$9 billion.
• Expansion into other seas: Management revealed that Latin America now contributes the largest share of its digital entertainment arm Garena’s Free Fire revenues.
• Making larger waves: Sea Capital, the company’s newly established platform for managing its investment efforts, is expected to strengthen Sea’s long-run growth capabilities and ecosystem. Its attention is therefore likely to focus on startups in the consumer, gaming, and financial sectors.

Scooting from Singapore to South Korea (and beyond)