Category: Venture Capital

Korean Travel Meta Search App Allstay Selects Partnerize as Its Exclusive Partner Management Solution

Partnerize, the leading provider of partner automation solutions for global brands, today announced that Allstay Company Limited, the leading Korean travel metasearch company, has selected the Partnerize platform to manage all of its revenue-generating partnerships. Partnerize’s award-winning Partner Automation Platform is an end-to-end, SaaS solution for forming, managing, analyzing and predicting the results of partner marketing programs using artificial intelligence (AI).

Allstay’s first-to-market iOS and Android app bring powerful accommodation metasearch capabilities to the highly connected mobile-first Korean consumer. The Allstay app compares over two million inventories from carefully curated booking sites to provide users with the lowest price and latest availability information for hotels and private accommodations. Allstay partnerships drive traffic to many of the world’s largest OTAs and other travel ecommerce sites. When users convert on those sites, Allstay receives a share of the revenue.

Allstay chose Partnerize because of its ability to track and report on all traffic and sales the company sends to its partners. With the Partnerize Platform, Allstay will benefit from:

– Richer real-time traffic insights
– More rapid growth in the number of travel providers in their ecosystem
– Faster payments from their e-commerce partners

Partnerize’s industry-leading mobile tracking capabilities were also a key factor in the Allstay decision. Partnerize offers multiple approaches to capture consumer events and conversions that take place on the mobile web, in-app, web-to-app, and app-to-app.

“Partnerize offers the entire suite of capabilities we need to power a larger and more productive partner program,” said Hyunsoo Cho, CEO of Allstay. “We need a highly flexible platform that can handle enormous scale, and Partnerize’s long track record meeting the needs of hundreds of the world’s largest brands gave us confidence in their abilities.”

“We are very proud to have been chosen to help Allstay build their business,” said Pete Mycock, Partnerize General Manager for the APAC region. “We look forward to serving this innovative mobile-first company and unlocking extraordinary growth opportunities.”

About Partnerize

Partnerize is the leader in partnership automation. The AI-powered Partnerize Partner Automation Platform delivers data-driven intelligence and industry-leading management tools that are essential for materially improving ROI from this fast-growing sales channel. The Partnerize platform has won more than two dozen awards including Best Technology from the International Performance Marketing Awards. The world’s leading companies, including 63 top retailers, 12 international airlines, 9 of the largest telecoms, and more than 200 other global brands rely on Partnerize to drive and manage more than $6B in partner sales and $500M in partner payments every year. For more information on how Partnerize can grow your partnerships and business, please visit https://partnerize.com.

Contact:
Diane Anderson
WIT Strategy for Partnerize
415.254.9086

SOURCE: Partnerize

Chiho Environmental Group Limited Joint Venture in Thailand with Hidaka Yookoo Enterprises and Suzuki Shokai

Chiho Environmental Group Limited (“CEG”) is pleased to announce that, on November 5th, 2019, it has established a Joint Venture (the “JV”), namely Hidaka- Chiho Metal Recycling (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (“HCMR”), with Hidaka Yookoo Enterprises Co. Limited (“HDK”), a leading scrap ferrous metal recycler in Thailand; and Suzuki Shokai Co. Limited (“SZK”), a leading resources recycling company in Japan, and a long term business partner of CEG; engaged in the business of metal recycling with primary focus in motor dismantling in Thailand.

Speeches by the representatives of the three joint venture parties:
“HDK has a history of more than 90 years. It is the first time in our long history, to establish a JV with parties from Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. The JV will combine the strength of the three JV partners and integrate the experience and technology of the three companies into a common goal. With the efforts to achieve maximum results, the HCMR factory, as a Thai company, will fully comply with national laws and regulations and aim to become an industry leader.”
– Mr. Yasuo Atitruangsiri, President of HDK

“China’s ban on imports of mixed metal scrap has become a topic of the world. Japan and Hokkaido have been greatly affected. Instead of a passive wait-and-see approach to this issue, we proactively establish JV together with the representative companies of the other two countries to jointly solve the global environmental problem that has become a world issue, and thus respond to the environmental changes of resources. I hope that for the future of Japan and Hokkaido, there is a better living environment, and this is a big step across the border.”
– Mr. Tsukasa Komatani, President of SZK

“In recent years, the great changes in waste and renewable resources in various countries have put CEG in an advantageous position as the recycler of scrap motor resources in Europe, America and Asia, and the ability to influence the countries in the renewable resources industry. It is a great pleasure to jointly establish JV with HDK and SZK. It is hoped that JV companies across the three countries will become the pioneer in the industry and contribute to the betterment of the world.”
– Mr. Yongming Qin, Chairman of CEG

Introduction of the JV partners:
HDK commenced its business in Thailand with a history of over 90 years, HDK is now the largest steel raw material manufacturer in Thailand. HDK make continuous efforts to innovate resource recycling technology and advance their business into a comprehensive integrated recycling company in Thailand.

SZK is a company incorporated in Japan and is principally engaged in recycle business, including aluminum scrap, steel scrap, plastic, home appliances and end-of-life vehicles, for over 65 years in Japan. They are also one of the biggest recyclers in Hokkaido, Japan.

CEG, being one of the largest listed metal recycling companies globally, has extensive operations across Asia, Europe and North America. Since Thailand is a newly industrialized market economy, which is a growing market for aluminium and ferrous products, the JV with HDK and SZK will bring mutual benefit but further strengthen CEG’s presence in Southeast Asia with a greater access to the Thailand market and securing a market leading position.

Jining City Urban Construction Investment Invests in Ruyi Group To Jointly Strengthen The Group’s Capital Structure

Shandong Ruyi Technology Group (“Ruyi Group”) has announced that Jining City Urban Construction Investment Co., Ltd. (“Jining City Urban Construction Investment”) has become its second-largest shareholder with a shareholding of 26%. The transaction consideration was approximately RMB3.5 billion. Yafu QIU, Chairman of Ruyi Group, remains as the single controlling shareholder of the Group.

Founded in 1972, Ruyi Group is now a leader in China’s textile and apparel industry and a fully-integrated enterprise with a portfolio of world-renowned accessible luxury brands. The Group tops its peers in China’s textile and apparel industry in terms of overall competitiveness and has established an extensive presence in the US, Europe and Northern Asia. Currently, the Group owns four publicly-listed companies, including SMCP listed in France, Renown Incorporated listed in Japan, Trinity Group listed in Hong Kong and A-share listed company Ruyi Woolen Garment Group. Ruyi Group has further strengthened its advanced textiles business early this year through the acquisition of world’s leading spandex brand LYCRA, The acquisition completed Ruyi Group’s fiber value chain and strengthened its position as a top fiber and textile apparel group. As an industry leader, Ruyi Group has been dedicated to enhancing overall integration of the business value-chain as well as optimising asset and capital allocation.

Established in Jining, Shandong, Jining City Urban Construction Investment is a state-owned enterprise directly managed by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Jining. The capital contribution into Ruyi Gorup has undoubtedly represented an endorsement by the local government, demonstrating its confidence in the future prospects and its recognition of the value of Ruyi Group. Yafu QIU, Chairman of Ruyi Group, said, “Amidst current macroeconomic conditions, the cooperation between state-owned enterprises and privately-owned companies is becoming increasingly important to the market, with the aim to achieve mutual benefits, enhance overall functionality and efficiency of the economy and optimise allocation of capital. Ruyi Group has developed from a domestic textile enterprise into a global fashion group driven by technological advancement and fashion brand retail business with a well-established industry ecosystem. We are very delighted to have the support and affirmation from the government. As an outstanding industry leader, Ruyi Group is confident to continue to integrate global resources and optimise its capital structure in a bid to achieve sustainable, stable and healthy business growth”.

About Ruyi Group
Ruyi Group tops its peers in China’s textile and apparel industry in terms of overall competitiveness and it is also a world-famous brand holding group focusing on the accessible luxury segment. Since its founding in 1972, Ruyi Group has committed to building a textile and apparel industrial chain guided by its “high-end, scientific, brand-oriented, and internationalization” strategy. Currently, the Group leads the world in fabric technology and intelligent manufacturing and owns the most comprehensive textile and apparel industrial chain in the global accessible luxury product segment. In recent years, Ruyi Group has, through acquisitions followed by successful integration of the resources acquired, brought under its name more than 30 international fashion brands from France, the UK, Japan, etc., such as Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot, Aquascutum, Cerruti1881, Gieves & Hawkes, Kent & Curwen, Durban, etc.

The Group also owns listed companies including Euronext Paris-listed SMCP, Trinity Group listed in Hong Kong, Renown Incorporated listed on the main board of Tokyo Stock Exchange and A-share listed company Ruyi Woolen Garment Group. To date, the Group has over 6,000 shops operating in over 80 countries and regions, with over 50,000 employees globally, making it one of the most influential Chinese companies in the global fashion world.

Zhonghua Gas Holdings Limited Announces Signed MOU on LNG Cooperation with Shenergy (Group)’s Wholly-Owned Subsidiary Shenergy Jiulian Group

Zhonghua Gas Holdings Limited (the “Company”; Stock Code: 8246) together with its subsidiaries (collective namely the “Zhonghua Gas”) today announces that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Shanghai Jiulian Group Co., Ltd (namely the “Shenergy Jiulian”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shenergy (Group) Co., Ltd. (collective namely the “Shenergy Group”) on cooperation in area of Liquefied Natural Gas (“LNG”).

Zhonghua Gas and Shenergy Jiulian cooperate to form a 60: 40 Joint Venture (“JV”) to co-explore end users market in Yangtze River Delta region for maximizing the edges of LNG resources of Shenergy Jiulian while end users resources of Zhanghua Gas. The JV will be principally engaged in sale of LNG, sale of LPG, engineering of LNG pipeline, sale, installation, maintenance of LNG delivery equipment, technology development, consulting and transfer of heating system, technology development of new energy, etc.

Zhonghua Gas intends to integrate the gas supply business of its existing customer resources in the Yangtze River Delta, such as existing point-to-point supply of LNG, decentralized energy, direct supply of industrial LNG, vehicle and ship refueling etc., into the LNG sales channel and business of the JV, and constantly expand the business scope of the JV and improve the market share. It will also be responsible for obtaining the qualification, license, permits, and approval for the JV to be engaged in LNG storage, transportation, sales and other related businesses as soon as possible.

Shenergy Jiulian as the LNG supplier for the JV will guarantee the sufficiency and stability of LNG supply and give necessary supports for the respective businesses of the JV.

Zhonghua Gas is proud and thrilled to be partnering with Shenergy Jiulian to create the optimal synergy for developing and expanding the LNG business. Shenergy Jiulian is a subsidiary of Shenergy Group which is a Top 500 enterprises in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) and a member company of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Shanghai (“Shanghai SASAC”). Shenergy Group is an investor and contractor for Shanghai’s major energy infrastructure as well as supplier for major energy including electricity and gas. It also constructs the “6+1” (West Gas Line 1, West Gas Line 2, Yangshan imported LGN, East Gas, Sichuan Gas, Jiangsu Rudong and fifth trench LNG emergency gas source) LNG multi-gas source protection system and builds a municipal gas business chain integrating with production and procurement, pipeline transportation, sale and supply of LNG. In 2018, the scale of its LNG operation reached 9 billion cubic meters, accounting for more than 90% of the market share in Shanghai.

For Zhonghua Gas, this cooperation on the one hand enables it to expand the scope of the LNG business, on the other hand enables it to secure the supply of LNG resources and to expand its business to the high potential market in the Yangtze River Delta region, and then to expand across the country as it planned.

In addition, Zhonghua Gas plans to build up strong relationships with new partners in order to cater future needs and foster further business opportunities. Zhonghua Gas will always continue to look for opportunities to venture into business relating to New Energy business in order to expand its business and market coverage and ultimately to build it into a leading diversified and integrated new energy service provider in the Greater China Region.

Shenergy (Group) Co., Ltd.
Shenergy (Group) Co., Ltd. is a wholly state-owned enterprise which is funded and supervised by the Shanghai SASAC. It is formerly known as Shenneng Electric Power Development Company, which was founded in 1987 and restricted as a group company in 1996 with registered capital of RMB 10 billion. It currently owns more than ten second-level wholly-owned and controlled subsidiaries including Shenergy Company Ltd. (SH 600642), Shanghai Gas Group and Orient Securities (SH600958). As at the end of 2018, the company ranked among the top 500 Chinese companies for 17 consecutive years. It is an investor and contractor for Shanghai’s major energy infrastructure as well as supplier for major energy including electricity and gas. It also constructs so-called 6+1 (West Gas Line 1, West Gas Line 2, Yangshan imported LGN, East Gas, Sichuan Gas, Jiangsu Rudong and fifth trench LNG emergency gas source) LNG multi-gas source protection system and builds a municipal gas business chain integrating with production and procurement, pipeline transportation, sale and supply of LNG. In 2018, the scale of its LNG operation reached 9 billion cubic meters, accounting for more than 90% of the market share in Shanghai. Shenergy Group shoulders the responsibility of ensuring the energy security supply of Shanghai and promoting the adjustment and optimization of the city’s energy structure. In recent years, it has promoted the development of clean energy and the expansion of the energy industry chain. It has been involved in new business areas such as wind power and solar power generation, natural gas power generation, decentralized energy supply, power plant energy conservation technology, energy trade, and new energy venture capital funds, and has actively implemented power plants. Desulfurization, denitrification and other initiatives have made positive contributions to low-carbon development and energy conservation and emission reduction in Shanghai.

Shanghai Jiulian Group Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Jiulian Group Co., Ltd. was formally established on January 18, 2000. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shenergy (Group) Co., Ltd. It was formed by the merger of the former Shanghai Commodity Exchange, Shanghai Metal Exchange and Shanghai Grain and Oil Commodity Exchange. Its principal businesses include oil trading agents, futures brokerage, investment management, delivery warehouse management, spot commodity trading, information technology, and property management, etc. It closely links with the major business of Shenergy Group and adheres to the development direction of energy factor market construction, financial investment and commercial real estate business. At present, its business scope is investments, domestic trading (except national special regulations) and other related consulting services, information technology services as well as cargo import and export business.

Zhonghua Gas Holdings Limited
Zhonghua Gas Holdings Limited is principally engaged in provision of diversified and integrated new energy services including technological development, construction related and consultancy services in relation to heat supply and coal-to-natural gas conversion, supply of Liquefied Natural Gas, coupled with trading of new energy related industrial products. The Group is also engaged in the property investment business.

Media Contacts:
Angel Yeung
Jovian Communications Ltd
Tel: +852 2581 0168
Email: news@joviancomm.com

Woodbridge Buys-Out Joint Venture Partner in China to Enhance Regional Growth Opportunities

Woodbridge, a global systems solution provider of fully-integrated foam products, announces it has entered into a formal agreement to acquire all the shares in its joint venture, Woodbridge GSK High Polymer Technology Co., Ltd. (WGSK), from its partner GSK Corporation. The transaction will enable Woodbridge to enhance its growth opportunities with its customers located in China.

Upon regulatory approval, GSK’s shares will be transferred to Woodbridge. The acquisition includes molded foam manufacturing operations in China: Wuhan (WGSK), Guangzhou (Guangzhou Woodbridge GSK High Polymer Technology Co., Ltd.) and Shanghai (Shanghai Woodbridge GSK Auto Parts Co., Ltd.).

“Woodbridge has been the management partner and technology provider of these three sites for 14 years,” said Woodbridge president and CEO Charles Daly. “These facilities will allow our technical expertise, operational excellence and proven track record to continue to be a powerful platform to accelerate growth within the region.”

According to Greg Yan, Woodbridge general manager, China, “On behalf of the entire team, I would like to thank GSK for their partnership and wish them continued success. Today marks an exciting chapter for us and reflects the collective efforts of our entire team and we look forward to our future in China.”

Following the completion of the sale, Woodbridge will continue to supply molded foam to GSK’s seat assembly operations.

About Woodbridge

Woodbridge is a privately-owned company offering innovative material technologies for applications in automotive, commercial, recreational, packaging, healthcare and building products. In addition to its manufacturing operations, Woodbridge offers a full complement of services including: chemical research and development, product and process engineering, tooling, technical support and accredited laboratory testing. Woodbridge operates more than 60 facilities across 10 countries-employing over 7,500 teammates and serving more than 600 customers worldwide. To learn more, visit woodbridgegroup.com.

Media Contacts:
Eric Turmel, Marketing Manager
(248) 280-6322
eric_turmel@woodbridgegroup.com

Greg Yan, General Manager, China
011-86-21-3173-5912, ext. 6522
greg_yan@woodbridgegroup.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/48006

Drive Japan Looks to Make Self-Guided Tours More Popular among Visitors

Raising Money to Create a New System to Help them Plan Driving Routes in Hokkaido

 

 

 

 

 

The number of visitors to Japan is increasing year by year, leading to an increase in those that rent cars. With this increase of visitors that are renting cars, a gap has appeared in what can be done to help with these car renters. For the most part, many look to tour companies but with many tours exceedingly overpriced, the visitors try to plan their own trip.

One problem that arises when trying to do so, is that many of the maps or information given on the internet isn’t checked or is inaccurate, leading to plans going astray. This is where Drive Japan steps in. Drive Japan is currently operating out of Tokyo and helps with the planning of trips in Kyushu and Okinawa. They are now planning to expand their service to Hokkaido, a target of many visitors, mainly repeaters that have had the chance to explore Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

Drive Japan therefore is looking at using crowdfunding to raise money to help fund costs such as accommodation and so on, as they travel around Hokkaido collecting important data that will allow them to perfect travel maps that they will then be able to disseminate to the public. By doing so they can help those that wish to tour in Japan with planning as well as collating data to make information more up to date.

The project can be found at https://en.japankurufunding.com/projects/drive-japan/

Project Information
– Period: July 8th 2019 – August 29th 2019
– Target: 1,000,000 Yen
– Returns: Returns are focused on giving information to backers that are looking to visit Hokkaido, Kyushu or Okinawa in the near future.

About Drive Japan
Drive Japan is a newly formed company, under the lead of Takujiro Oto. Mr Oto has 7 years of experience when it comes to Online Marketing, as well as 4 and a half years concerning tour operation in Japan after working in Singapore. Official website https://drivejapan.co.jp.

About JAPANKURU FUNDING
JAPANKURU FUNDING is a Japanese based crowdfunding site, that allows for the project page to be curated in 3 different languages, English, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese. This allows for funding to be collected from all over the world. Homepage https://en.japankurufunding.com.

For more information, please contact info@japankurufunding.com

Elite Partners Capital announces S$3.0m investment in TAG Sensors

Pal Kastmann, Director of Innovation Norway, Micheal Tan, CEO of Elite Partners Capital, Knut Nygard, CEO of TAG Sensors and the Ambassador of Norway to Singapore, HE Anita Nergaard (From left to right)

Singapore private equity firm Elite Partners Capital (EPC) announced an investment of S$3.0m (EUR1.95 million) in TAG Sensors, a Norway-based provider of advanced solutions to track and log the temperature of perishable and sensitive products, both in storage and during transportation.

TAG Sensors’ proprietary Temperature Logging Label is a low-cost, printable temperature sensor that can be attached to a product or package, facilitating continuous tracking of an item’s temperature from production to consumption.

EPC’s Elite InNorvate Growth LP, a Singapore-based fund dedicated to investments in Norwegian growth companies, signed the agreement for an investment of a significant minority stake in TAG Sensors.

Following the investment, TAG Sensors will set up its Asian headquarters in Singapore to leverage on the country’s skilled local talent, modern IT infrastructure, rigorous IP protection and strategic importance as a major logistics hub.

The investment represents one of the first investments by a Singaporean fund in a technology company from Norway, which is seeking to diversify from its traditional reliance on the oil and gas sector. EPC will leverage on its network and resources to help TAG Sensors expand in Asia, a region of rapid economic growth which is experiencing accelerated demand for advanced logistics solutions.

The investment agreement was signed by EPC’s Executive Chairman Mr. Micheal Tan and TAG Sensors’ CEO Mr. Knut Nygard and CFO Mr. Thomas Nilssen at the Norwegian Embassy in Singapore. The signing was witnessed by the Ambassador of Norway to Singapore, Her Excellency Anita Nergaard, and Innovation Norway’s Director and Commercial Counsellor Pal Kastmann.

Established in 2012, TAG Sensors is a recipient of a EUR1.4 million grant from Horizon 2020, the EU Research and Innovation programme. It offers solutions that include Big Data analysis, digitalization, blockchain, sensor technology, and RFID and NFC wireless technologies.

TAG Sensors aims to become the global standard in cold chain integrity measurement and analytics; identifying and ultimately reducing product waste in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

EPC’s Micheal Tan said, “TAG Sensors has a suite of technologies which can transform the entire cold chain logistics industry. Our investment decision is anchored by the firm belief that this is a game-changer which has great potential for expansion in Asia and beyond.”

“We also hope that through this inaugural investment in Norway, EPC can help facilitate Singapore as an important bridge between Asian capital and Nordic technology. This will also open up more Asian-EU economic and technological partnerships,” he added.

TAG Sensors’ Knut Nygard said, “We are delighted to have EPC as a significant investor. We intend to tap on EPC’s network to expand across Asia and add value to the cold chain sector across the region. EPC is a welcome addition to our existing investors that include London-based Breed Reply and Platform Ventures USA.”

Innovation Norway’s Pal Kastmann said, “Norway’s startup and growth companies are highly innovative and have great potential for development. EPC’s investment in TAG Sensors underpins Singapore’s receptiveness to innovation and we hope that this will be the first of many partnerships between Singapore and Norway.”

“Innovation Norway has been working with TAG Sensors for the past four to five years targeting several markets worldwide. We are very pleased that it has successfully diversified its portfolio to include food transportation technology, and believe Singapore will be a perfect point of expansion into South East Asian markets,” he added.

For further information, please contact:
WeR1 Consultants Pte Ltd (Investor Relations), www.wer1.net
Jordan Teo / Ryan del Agua, Tel: +65 6737 4844 elite@wer1.net

About Elite Partners Capital
Headquartered in Singapore, Elite Partners Capital is an alternative asset management company focused on the management of yield-accretive real estate assets with high growth potential and well-defined exit strategies. Backed by a team with proven expertise in private equity and real estate investment trusts (REITs), its threefold investment philosophy aims to protect initial capital, preserve investment value and create new growth opportunities.

Elite Partners Capital is a Registered Fund Management Company with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations. For more information, please visit: http://elitepartnerscapital.com

About TAG Sensors
Founded in 2012, TAG Sensors is a complete cold chain logistics solution for the food and pharmaceutical industries. It has developed the first low-cost, full visibility solution that ensures and proves that temperature sensitive foods and pharmaceutical products have been stored and transported within the temperature limits.

TAG Sensors’ radio-frequency identification (RFID) Temperature Logger Label is the only one on the market that can effectively track temperature and other variables of an individual package from production to consumption, ensuring transparency, improving quality control and minimising wastage due to improper handling.

The TAG Sensors platform comprises individual Smart Tags for each good equipped with an RFID antenna and temperature sensors, a Tag Management System database that provides logs of sensor labels and alerts quality managers when the temperature is incorrect as well as mobile applications and gate readers. For more information, please visit: http://tag-sensors.com/ 

Philippines: Blockchain Ticketing Startup Ticket2Me Secures $350K

Philippine blockchain-enabled ticketing startup Ticket2Me announced today that it has secured a US$350,000 seed funding from Singapore-based Citystate Group Pte. Ltd.

With the funding, Ticket2Me is set to implement its expansion plan not only in major cities outside Metro Manila and Metro Cebu but also to establish operations in Malaysia and Hong Kong. It established a regional office in Singapore in 2018.

Citystate’s investment in Ticket2Me is not just a vote of confidence in the excellent execution and product-market fit we’ve demonstrated since going live in May 2018. It’s also a continuing challenge for the company to keep delivering value for both event organisers and ticket buyers in the Philippines and very soon, in Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, according to Ticket2Me Founder and CEO Darwin Mariano.

“We’re absolutely convinced that event organisers and ticket buyers in the region are both hungry and ready for event ticketing innovation—and Ticket2Me will be there to help them,” he said.

Citystate Group Pte. Ltd. has over 30 years’ expertise in business and lifestyle travel, food and beverage, restaurant management, property development and management, education, and general insurance underwriting and brokering.

The group currently consists of 55 subsidiaries and operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, India, and with the Ticket2Me investment, will operate in the Philippines, as well.

“Citystate Group recognises that there is great market potential for a ticketing platform with regional ambitions and the flexibility to serve local communities for all their venue and event ticketing needs,” said Citystate Group Pte. Ltd. Director Julie Haw.

Ticket2Me is Southeast Asia’s first blockchain-enabled ticketing platform. The nine-month old platform can be accessed via the website, mobile site, and the iOS and Android apps.

To date, Ticket2Me has already hosted over 1,300 live events, accessed by over 11,000 unique users, and has sold more than 29,000 tickets. Ticket2Me is the Philippines’ first fully digital ticketing and event technology solution with more than 9,000 payment outlets, making it the most convenient and most accessible ticketing platform in the country.

Ticket2Me is also planning a public sale of blockchain-based tokens that ticket buyers and event organisers can use on the platform for 2019. – AsiaPEVC.com

Also Read:
Singapore’s GrabJobs Raises US$930K to Boost Recruitment Technology
Philippines: Jollibee Takes 100% Ownership of US Burger Chain Smashburger

Vietnam’s Luxury E-Commerce Site Leflair Secures $7M in Funding

Leflair, Vietnam’s online premium outlet, announces its latest series-B funding round from GS Shop and Belt Road Capital Management for US$7 million, bringing the company’s total financing to date to close to US$12 million.

The last series-A funding round of the company was at US$ 3 million and happened 12 months ago in January 2018.

Following the flash-sales model that is proven to be successful in Europe (Vente-privee.com) and China (vip.com), Leflair offers a wide range of branded merchandise from Fashion, Beauty and Home worldwide to the Vietnamese consumers at an attractive price.

Since its launch in December 2015, the company has grown on average more than a 100% every year in gross merchandise value and is currently selling merchandise from more than 1,500 brands.

This round has the participation of two investors and also marks GS Shop’s first direct investment in Vietnam’s startup scene.

“We are going to use this capital first to leverage as much as possible the strategic partnership with GS and increase our flow of merchandise coming from Korea. It means investing in hiring the teams that will make this partnership a success and deploy resources in the areas of fulfillment, delivery and technology,” said Loic Gautier, Co-founder & CEO of Leflair.

As the demand for branded products continues to grow rapidly among the Vietnamese consumers, Leflair will continue to invest in their cross-border operations and bring in more international brands from overseas, in particularly Asia’s largest shopping hubs to Vietnam.

“Since the launch of our international hubs in Singapore and Hong Kong last year, we brought hundreds more brands, for the first time accessible to the Vietnamese consumers. International sales have been growing at an impressive 2x rate per quarter. We believe cross-border is the future of e-commerce in Southeast-Asia and with this additional funding, our customers will soon be able to purchase even more brands from new international hubs, in particular Korea and Japan, while enjoying the same delivery experience as for domestic deliveries.” Gautier commented.

Growing international operations is part of a bigger plan for Leflair to replicate the successes of Vietnam into other Southeast Asian markets.

“We started Leflair in Vietnam knowing that other markets with similar demographics are facing the same supply challenges. 2019 will be be the year of our regional expansion as we progress towards our mission of making the world’s best brands accessible to more consumers in Southeast-Asia.” Mr. Gautier said.

Until today, Leflair has closed a total of three rounds of investment from world-class angel investors and venture capital firms from the United States, France, Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong and now from Korea and Cambodia.

The company was founded by Loic Gautier and Pierre-Antoine Brun, two French entrepreneurs currently living in Vietnam. Leflair is operating in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and has offices and fulfillment centers in Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong. – AsiaPEVC.com

Also Read:
SoftBank Ventures Korea is now SoftBank Ventures Asia
Lightspeed Venture Raising $560 Million For Two Chinese Funds

Singapore’s GrabJobs Raises US$930K to Boost Recruitment Technology

GrabJobs, a Singapore-based mobile-first Job Platform focused on entry to mid-level jobs, today announced a round of funding in 2018 that has raised US$930k from seed funding, bringing total funding to over SGD$2.5 million.

The funds will be used for continuing product development and refinement for their
GrabJobs platform. To this end, they will be integrating Natural Language Processing
(NLP) and Machine Learning technologies into their signature interview chat bot.

This will be created in partnership with Mr. Erik Cambria, Associate Professor in Artificial Intelligence at NTU.

GrabJobs will soon launch a major product feature that aims to revolutionise recruitment by eliminating the need to apply for jobs with a CV.

Job seekers for high-volume recruitment jobs, such as retail and F&B services, will benefit from this feature as it allows them to apply for jobs quickly, without the need to create and craft a CV. Relevant questions will be managed through the chat bot in order to expedite the interview and screening process.

“We are proud to help high-volume recruiters hire faster and better. In 2019, we will also be expanding outside of our current markets in Southeast Asia by partnering with regional job sites to provide our services to recruiters in the region,” said GrabJobs CEO and Co-Founder Emmanuel Crouy.

Founded in July 2015, GrabJobs claims over 5,000 companies use its platform to simplify and cut down their hiring process from days to minutes. GrabJobs has won Best Job Portal and Best Recruitment Innovation at the Asia Recruitment Awards 2018, and Most Disruptive Innovation at the Singapore HR Awards 2018.

The company has raised a total of US$1.9 million in funding over five rounds that started in 2015. The latest funding its is biggest so far.

Also Read:
Singapore Proptech Startup Propseller Raises $731K in Seed Funding
Singapore’s Helpling Secures Funding from Tamedia AG, Enters Switzerland