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I don’t consider myself extremely patriotic, but seeing Indomie – a local brand of instant noodles – being admired in other countries gives me a good feeling.
Despite the cross-border popularity of the instant noodle, Indomie creator Salim Group can’t just be a one-trick pony. Over the years, the biggest Indonesian conglomerate has diversified into various industries, including digital ones.
Malaysian fintech firm Boost shares a similar story: its telecom parent firm, Axiata, ventured into the startup world and eventually was drawn to digital banking. However, unlike the family-owned Salim Group, the Malaysian government controls Axiata through Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.
My colleague Emmanuel maps out Boost’s structure in this week’s Big Story, where you will find out more about how the fintech company arranges its key resources. The CEOs of the company’s different verticals are all veterans at Axiata, and in a sign of its importance, Indonesia – where Axiata is present through the XL brand – is the only overseas market with its own CEO.
Interestingly, though, even if it’s state-run, that doesn’t mean the Malaysian firm is involved in every single government initiative – other e-wallet providers like Grab and Shopee still have the upper hand in the country.
In other news, Apple announced earlier this month that it will launch a buy now, pay later product in the US. If it rolls out the service in developing markets like Indonesia, how much will it affect local players?
– Budi
THE BIG STORY
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Org chart: The people behind Boost
We look at the captains steering Boost as it transforms itself from an e-wallet provider to a fintech group.
THE HOT TAKE
Will Apple ride the BNPL bandwagon all the way to Southeast Asia?
NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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