Game on! Will Singtel’s gaming venture take off?

More: Big money for this Chinese fitness app, and troubles for India’s instant loan apps [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter Hello {NAME} It’s often in adversity that we find what makes or breaks us. For me, that adversity sometimes appears in unexpected ways - like struggling to crack open a brand-new jar of peanut butter this morning and feeling bemusingly frustrated about it. Singapore telecoms company Singtel has endured a host of challenges after a history of failed startup acquisitions and ventures, but it’s remained relatively undeterred. Its latest foray is in the gaming world, which is hardly a stab in the dark. Today we look at, - Singtel’s bold moves into its [latest gaming joint venture]( - The sharia fintech platform that’s banked US$20 million - Other newsy highlights such as troubles for India’s instant loan apps and a SoftBank-backed investment app’s fresh backing  ---------------------------------------------------------------  PREMIUM SUMMARY  After several failed ventures, Singtel is ready to take on the gaming world Singapore’s largest telco, Singtel, appears unfazed. Despite its failed startup acquisitions and ventures - most notably the downfall of video-streaming platform Hooq - the company is pressing on. Its latest foray is Storms, a gaming joint venture with Thailand’s AIS and South Korea’s SK Telecom. Each partner will contribute an equal share to an initial investment of US$22.5 million. - Power to the people: Around 80% to 90% of the Storms team are gaming industry veterans - former employees of Ubisoft, EA Games, Riot Games, and Tencent. And because Singtel, AIS, and SK Telecom will own only a significant minority share in the business, this gives Storms the autonomy to operate without being bogged down by [top-down bureaucracy]( which a former Hooq employee cited in a separate interview as the reason for the platform’s failure. Last year, Storms exceeded its revenue and EBITA targets. - Keeping things casual: Sea Group dominates the region as one of the top publishers of hardcore games, which is why Storms is looking to fill the gaps for casual and hyper-casual games. Its main competitors in this segment include France-based Voodoo and California-based Lion Studios, though they may lack the local expertise or market insights that Storms believes it has. - Everybody play the game: At present, Storms has 150 in-house and third-party games, and is currently in talks with two white-label platforms to place its games on super apps outside of the Singtel group. The gaming firm’s end goal: a Storms app through which a mobile-based community can be built for gaming news and rewards. It’s slated to be published late this year. Read more: [Singtel’s bold move to storm the gaming world](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  STARTUP SPOTLIGHT  This sharia fintech firm just banked US$20 million Alami Technologies - a sharia fintech platform based in Indonesia - has raised over US$20 million [in equity and debt funding]( in a round led by AC Ventures and Golden Gate Ventures. This comes a year after the company closed its US$1.5 million seed round, which was also led by Golden Gate Ventures. - Indonesia’s big plans: The funding is pretty big news, considering it coincides with Indonesia’s five-year roadmap for the country’s Islamic finance industry. The roadmap hopes to carve out a 20% market share for the sector - which includes banking, insurance, and capital markets - by the end of 2024. - About Alami: The licensed sharia peer-to-peer (P2P) platform focuses on lending to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through the principles of sharia finance. Alami also provides access to sharia-compliant debt capital for MSMEs in Indonesia and lending opportunities to individuals and financial institutions in the region. - Future plans: Alami claims to be the largest licensed sharia P2P lender in Indonesia. Its aim is to grow fourfold to disburse over US$71.8 million to sectors including healthcare, farming, logistics, and food, among others.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  PREMIUM PODCAST AirAsia X’s founding CEO shares how the carrier navigated the 2008 financial crisis In 2007, Azran Osman-Rani got a call from Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes of AirAsia, who asked the executive to helm a new project: an airline that specializes in low-cost, long-haul flights. Despite not having had any experience in the airline industry, Osman-Rani joined the venture, which was eventually known as AirAsia X. And four short months after he came on board, the carrier launched its first flight from Kuala Lumpur to Gold Coast, Australia. However, the company’s success was quickly overshadowed by the 2008 global financial crisis, which caused AirAsia X’s credit lines to dry up and oil prices to go haywire. On this [episode of Startup Snapshot]( we dive into Osman-Rani’s experiences at the early days of AirAsia X, from when he started up the new airline to the moment when it almost went bust.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  QUICK BYTES  1️⃣ SoftBank-backed investment app scores big bucks Indonesia-based investment app Ajaib Group [has secured US$25 million]( in a series A round led by Li Ka-shing’s Horizons Ventures and Alpha JWC Ventures - with participation from existing investors SoftBank Ventures Asia, Insignia Ventures Partners, and Y Combinator. The startup will use the fresh capital to expand its technology infrastructure, recruit engineering talent, and deepen its product offerings.  2️⃣ Troubles for India’s instant loan apps Illegal Chinese instant loan apps are cropping up on the Google Play Store in India, and [misinformed borrowers are bearing the brunt of the drawbacks]( facing harassment from loan debt collectors thanks to exorbitant interest rates. With over 4,000 instant loan apps available in India, identifying illegal ones is an uphill challenge - some of these apps are built by Chinese companies, but established on-the-ground operations in India.  3️⃣ SoftBank backs Chinese fitness app for US$360 million China’s most popular workout app has been [given a healthy boost]( US$360 million in its series F funding round. The financing was led by SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund, with participation from Hillhouse Capital and Tencent. This brings the startup’s valuation to some US$2 billion.  4️⃣ More money for HR tech startup Snaphunt Singapore recruitment platform Snaphunt [has banked US$1 million]( in a funding round from Beenext. The HR tech startup was founded in 2017 and aims to help users find employment by offering real-time updates on their job applications using AI.  5️⃣ Indonesia’s Pintek closes US$21 million Pintek, an education-centred fintech firm, has raised [a US$21 million debt facility]( from US-based private debt investor Accial Capital. With it, the startup hopes to accelerate the penetration of educational financing and make learning in Indonesia more accessible for the masses.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Tech in Asia’s daily newsletter is free for everyone. But if you want to get full access to all of the insightful articles, charts, podcasts, workshops and educational videos, you can do so at just US$1 when you start [your 30-day trial](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING - What founders need to know about exit strategies on Monday, January 18 When should founders get ready for exits? To explore the subject, we are holding a master class on preparing an exit strategy with Mark Strecker, partner at Sansa Advisors. He will delve into how a startup can prep for an exit, how to understand the different exit paths, and how mergers and acquisitions actually work. [Join us here]( at no extra cost if you’re a Premium or Live subscriber. - Switched on: a global view of the technology industry on Wednesday, January 20 Technology inspires a singular passion among a certain subset of consumers: one that crosses international borders and a range of product categories. Technology brands need to understand who the highly engaged technophiles are and how they can effectively target them. Join YouGov’s FREE webinar next Wednesday at 3:00 pm SGT to discover the latest findings from [their global technology white paper]( and learn about what you should be aware of in the technology industry in 2021. [Register now](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  WHO'S HIRING - [Operations Associate]( at Homage (Singapore, Singapore) - [Software Engineer]( at Hukumonline (Jakarta, Indonesia) - [Product Design Manager]( at Pegipegi (Jakarta, Indonesia)  ---------------------------------------------------------------  SHARE WITH YOUR FRIEND Don’t leave your co-workers behind! Share this with them so they can keep up with what’s going on in the region’s tech scene. Feel free to [drop us some feedback]( if our newsletter today got you feeling smarter (or if it didn’t).  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Thanks for reading! Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love - and sometimes powered by good kopi (or tea). [ADVERTISE]( | [PREMIUM]( | [JOBS]( P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Was this forwarded to you? You can read this everyday when you sign up [here](. Don't want to receive these emails anymore? [Unsubscribe](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Today’s edition is written by Rebecca Liew, with contributions from Nikki Natividad and Deepti Sri. It’s edited by Jaclyn Teng. Copyright © 2021 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 51 Bras Basah Rd, #05-5061, Singapore 189554