Tech in Asia’s hidden agenda revealed

“What’s your agenda?” That’s the question we sometimes get when we approach someone with a story angle they don’t like. [Read from your browser]( Editor's Letter Dear {NAME} “What’s your agenda?” That’s the question we sometimes get when we approach someone with a story angle they don’t like. They wonder if our advertisers or shareholders are pressuring us to pursue certain stories. As trite as it sounds, our agenda is to serve our readers. If we do that well, we’ll make money, which helps us serve our readers even better. Yes, our news sources have agendas. But there’s no secret backroom in which we take direction from shadowy benefactors. It’s up to us to ensure that their agendas don’t cloud our stories. Our coverage might be biased or skewed in a few instances, but it’s never deliberate. Often, we just happen to receive more adverse intel about a particular company. At other times, it’s a blind spot, and we correct it as soon as possible. Business journalism is inherently incentuous and rife with potential conflicts of interest. The people and companies we cover could also be our sources, investors, readers, sponsors, and customers. Even business publications that make all their money from memberships can’t escape that, not when they have big corporate subscribers. And who’s to say a particular journalist isn’t compromised in some way? In the end, it’s all about the integrity of the publication, the trust it has built with readers, and the strength of its product. Shopee versus Lazada Business journalism is ultimately a balancing act, especially when you’re covering duelling businesses like Shopee and Lazada. From reading [FinTwit]( (financial Twitter) and talking to various people in the internet industry, you’d get a sense of inevitability about Shopee, the leading ecommerce marketplace in Southeast Asia. But the dust hasn’t settled yet. In Indonesia, ecommerce penetration [has soared]( but remains far behind China. (Moving away from cash on delivery, which is [giving couriers headaches]( is key to growing the pie.) In terms of monthly and weekly active users, Lazada isn’t far behind Shopee, though the gap is wider if you look at daily active users, according to estimates. There’s certainly room for a few marketplaces in Southeast Asia to thrive. A major development worth watching is Lazada parent Alibaba’s recent US$300 million bet on Vietnam. In our [deep dive on this news]( we explained how the Chinese ecommerce giant is banking on online groceries to regain some momentum in Southeast Asia. Groceries is an area of strength for Lazada, thanks to its acquisition of Singapore-based online grocer RedMart. Putting Southeast Asia on the tech map It’s hard to believe that a Singaporaen company could stand toe-to-toe with a Chinese ecommerce titan. But that’s exactly what Sea, Shopee’s parent firm, did. While Sea’s founders originate from China, they have all become Singapore citizens. Two of its founders arrived in Singapore by way of government scholarships. It’s one of the many business-friendly government policies that aided the rise of Sea, which thrived in the absence of a startup ecosystem and venture capital funding, as we detailed in our story on whether [Sea is Singapore’s “oops” company](. In fact, Sea is such a big believer of scholarships that it is awarding its own as a way of giving back. From HungryGoWhere to hungry ghost? The growth of Sea contrasts with the fate of another beloved Singapore startup: HungryGoWhere. It had languished after being acquired by Singtel in 2012, and we [discussed the reasons why](. But it may yet live: Singtel is understood to have [organized a private bid]( for the platform, and many players are interested. The timing of the bid raises questions, however, as we reported last week. HungryGoWhere harkens back to an era in which Singapore’s startup ecosystem was small. It is much more diverse today. In edtech, we mapped out [the key players in Southeast Asia]( which includes some startups from Singapore. In fintech, we talked about how iFast, which was doing fintech even before the word became popular, might be [Singapore’s most underrated public internet company](. Elsewhere, we covered how an ex-CXA executive has a new startup that lets employees of small and medium-sized businesses [choose their own health perks](. Finally, we’ve brought back our [roundup of tech and startup events](. Given the pandemic situation, there’s a new twist: We’re now including online, offline, and hybrid events. I hope you’ll find these useful! We’re building an editorial product that you can trust. [Subscribe to Tech in Asia]( today. Best regards, Terence Lee Editor-in-Chief To ensure that you 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. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2021 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 51 Bras Basah Rd, #05-5061, Singapore 189554