Singapore

Asia’s Quest Ventures plans to invest in Indonesia
17May By Team FPNo Comments
Asia, Singapore

Asia’s Quest Ventures plans to invest in Indonesia

Singapore-based venture capital Quest Ventures plans to expand its investment to Indonesia, among other Southeast Asian countries, after recently announcing the first close of a fund worth US$50 million. The amount represented more than half of its target for the fund named Asia Fund II. It will be invested in post-seed and series A stages funding in start-ups across Southeast Asia and emerging Asia such as Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines. Quest Ventures has been deploying capital in Singapore and Vietnam with its portfolio, including as second-hand e-commerce platform Carousell, property finding platform 99.co and rental fashion StyleTheory. “We were deliberate in selecting our investors and we hope with this fund we can bring different skill sets, domain experience and connections...
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16May By Team FPNo Comments
China, Singapore

Securities and Exchange Commission caution Philippines public over investment

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines has asked the public again to exercise caution when presented with opportunities to invest in businesses or join organizations promising easy money amid the COVID-19 pandemic.In The SE has identified five more groups engaged in investment-solicitation activities without the necessary licenses: CryptoInvestWith.Us (CIW.U), Won Project/ Won Network/ Won Foundation, Captcha Philippines, Inc., Fil-Invest, and Xtreme House of Beauty Trading Corporation.CIW.U, Won Project, Captcha Philippines, Fil-Invest and Xtreme have neither registered securities such as investment contracts nor secured secondary licenses to solicit and take investments from the public, as required under Republic Act No. 8799, or The Securities Regulation Code.Fu...
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15May By Team FPNo Comments
Asia, Singapore

Singapore-based startup plans to make mental health approachable

Intellect, a Singapore-based startup, has decided to make the idea of mental health more approachable with an app that offers self-guided exercises based on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. The company develops consumer and enterprise versions of the app (for employers to offer as a benefit) and now has users in several countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, India and China. Since its beta launch earlier this year, co-founder and CEO Theodoric Chew says Intellect has signed up about 10,000 users, as well as 10 companies ranging in size from startups to large corporations. The startup plans to launch Mandarin and Bahasa Indonesian versions, and is currently working with researchers to develop localized versions of its exercises, which include guided journaling, behavioral exerci...
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Grab: From business-school project to game-changer in Southeast Asia
4May By Team FPNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, Singapore

Grab: From business-school project to game-changer in Southeast Asia

Ride-hailing app brings financial security to drivers and new technology to region SINGAPORE -- In Malaysia, taxi drivers not using meters were once a common sight. And women, fearful of possible assaults, avoided riding alone in taxis. Seeking to transform the taxi industry in their home country, Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling founded the ride-hailing app Grab in 2012. In the eight years since then, Grab has grown into a leading provider of social infrastructure in roughly 340 cities across eight countries in Southeast Asia. The two began developing a plan to start a business when they were students at Harvard Business School. Their idea for a ride-hailing app, for which they found inspiration from a lecture on balancing the pursuit of corporate profits with social contributions,...
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