Who’s investing in a ‘clean’ future for the planet?

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Hi readers,

I’ve been talking about environmental issues in my Japanese classes recently. Specifically, the discussion passage refers to a survey conducted in 2008 by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper that asked Japanese citizens what they were willing to give up in order to reduce energy usage. The clear winners (losers?) were vending machines (84% said they could do without) and 24-hour convenience stores (83% said they could forego these).

The discussion got me thinking about what I’d be willing to give up. In hot-all-year-round Singapore, cutting down aircon usage would be tough. I don’t drive a car or mine bitcoin, so other obvious candidates don’t apply to me either. Maybe I could use more reusable food containers?

But that’s just one person’s efforts. For real change to occur, governments and big corporations across the world need to lead the charge. And in today’s premium article, we delve into the investments into Southeast Asia’s cleantech space.

Today, we look at:

• Who’s putting money into saving the environment?
• How Razer is slicing its way to positive financial figures
• Other newsy highlights such as Lazada’s logistics rebrand and IPO-bound Delhivery’s recent acquisition

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Investing in the environment

There’s plenty of talk about how Southeast Asia is the next great growth region. But with that acceleration also comes high demands for energy. For example, demand for electricity in the region is skyrocketing at a rate of 4% per year – that’s twice the rate of the rest of the world!

• Not good enough: The International Energy Agency predicts that investments for renewable energy in Southeast Asia would probably breach US$16.4 billion from 2025 to 2030. However, the IEA projects that US$49.7 billion is what’s actually required.
• Steps being taken: Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, governments across the globe have pledged to enact carbon neutrality plans.Southeast Asia, for its part, has set a target of supplying 23% of its energy requirements with renewable energy by 2025.
• Not good enough, part 2: Despite government efforts in the space, investment in cleantech startups is lagging behind. In fact, from 2011 to 2021, 92% of the total US$575 million investments in the sector came from Singapore.

Read more: The rise of cleantech in Southeast Asia

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

Razer rises up

Razer, the Singapore-born gaming titan, said its revenue came in at an all-time high in the first half of the year. The result was driven by the continued growth of its hardware and fintech offerings. The company said it saw a 68% growth in total revenue, which stood at US$752 million in the first half of fiscal 2021 (H1 2021) compared to US$447.5 million a year ago.

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