Lesson from Singapore's 1st SPAC deal: It's all in on livestreaming and live commerce

Opening Bell 🔔 is Tech in Asia’s free newsletter that brings you the biggest news and latest trends around Asia’s publicly listed tech companies. [Read from your browser]( Opening Bell 🔔 Welcome to the Opening Bell! Delivered every Monday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and latest trends on Asia’s publicly listed tech companies. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Written by Simon Huang Journalist Hello {NAME} Livestreamers can be a dedicated bunch. [South Korean internet celebrity]( Barbie Jini was recording herself having a meal in the Siam Paragon mall in Thailand when the tragic shooting that killed two people occured. In the clip, we can see her react to the shots and run out of the mall in under a minute, while continuing to livestream. Hopefully, such dramatic scenes are an exception rather than the norm. However, livestreaming platforms like 17Live will certainly want to attract more individuals like the Korean livestreamer. Last week, 17Live was announced as the target for Vertex Technology Acquisition Corporation (VTAC), the first SPAC listed on the SGX and the first to announce a deal. In this week’s big story, I take a closer look at the livestreaming platform’s business. How does it make money? How does its valuation stack up? I also discuss other details around the SPAC transaction. -- Simon  ---------------------------------------------------------------  THE BIG STORY [Takeaways from Singapore’s landmark SPAC deal and its target company, 17Live]( The livestreaming firm says that its businesses will have a total addressable market of US$18 billion by 2027. ---------------------------------------------------------------  3 TRENDS TO KEEP EYE ON Hot stocks, earnings reports, restructuring, pressure from activist investors, and more. 1️⃣ Apple considered replacing Google as default search engine on Safari browser: The iPhone maker [held talks]( with DuckDuckGo, an internet privacy company that provides a free web browser. Details are to be unsealed as part of the ongoing US antitrust suit against Google (GOOGL, NDAQ). In its lawsuit, the US Department of Justice is arguing that Google, which has 90% of the search market, illegally paid US$10 billion to smartphone makers like Apple (AAPL, NDAQ) to be the default search engine on their devices. While Google has previously argued that this is no different from consumer brands paying supermarkets for more prominent in-store placement, it has a far higher market share of the search market than any one consumer brand does. Yet, it is challenging to argue that Google harmed consumer welfare if we use the conventional standard of the term. After all, the company is providing a service that consumers do not pay for. Players like DuckDuckGo, however, would argue that consumers are paying for it with their data. Big tech companies like Alphabet (Google’s parent firm), Amazon (AMZN, NDAQ), and Meta (META, NDAQ) are now facing a reckoning in US courts. The cases against them may not be the most legally watertight, but the publicity and exposure may force the firms to make changes to more egregious aspects of their behavior. 2️⃣ Visa launches US$100 million venture fund for genAI startups: Payments processor Visa (V, NYSE) is joining other large US tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle (ORCL, NYSE) that are [investing]( in generative AI startups. While noting that much of the attention on genAI has focused on tasks and content creation, Visa’s chief product and strategy officer, Jack Forestell, suggested that the company would be looking out for startups that can use the tech to “meaningfully change commerce” in other ways. Visa has a long history of investing in promising firms. For example, it was an [early investor]( in fintech firm Plaid, which develops financial services APIs. Subsequently, Visa tried to acquire Plaid but [abandoned]( its efforts after facing resistance from regulators. Will policymakers continue to frustrate such M&A deals if they take place in the genAI - and not strictly fintech - space? Even if this were the case, the venture fund it’s forming should provide Visa with useful information on what is going on in the sector and allow it to detect threats and opportunities early. That’s surely worth more than US$100 million to the company. 3️⃣ Bain Capital’s Vietnam foray: US private equity giant Bain Capital invested US$200 million in Vietnamese conglomerate Masan Group (MSN, HM), which owns businesses like Masan Food (consumer staples), Techcombank (financial services), and Masan Resources (mining). This is Bain’s first investment in Vietnam, although it has previously backed other Asian retail businesses. The investment speaks to the continued attractiveness of the Southeast Asian country, which has a population of 100 million and is rapidly urbanizing. Masan runs over 3,200 supermarkets and minimarts in Vietnam and has partnerships with the likes of ecommerce platform [Lazada](. Despite it likely [missing]( its 2023 GDP target and the recent [political instability]( the country is set to continue attracting investment from foreign investors looking for alternatives to China. 2 EYE-POPPING NUMBERS Tech in Asia scours the internet to bring you head-turning numbers from the world of business. - [3 million]( The number of active users on car-sharing platform Zoomcar, which is finalizing a SPAC merger in the US. - [US$150 million]( Amount secured by GoTo (GOTO, IDX) from the International Finance Corporation and Franke & Company to boost financial inclusion and sustainability across Indonesia. THE ONE YOU DIDN'T SEE COMING We spotlight the story that had everyone talking and social media buzzing during the past week. Doosan Robotics shares jump on IPO: Shares in South Korea’s Doosan Robotics closed its first day of trading last Thursday at a price that was [nearly double]( its IPO price. The company makes “collaborative robots,” which work side by side with humans and are commonly used in F&B outlets. Shares in companies like Arm (ARM, NDAQ), Instacart (CART, NDAQ), and Klaviyo (KVYO, NYSE) have failed to hold on to the initial gains they made post IPO, and Doosan could easily fall into that trap as well. But a 100% increase does give it a buffer. That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to our preference center at the bottom of this email. Happy investing and see you next week! Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only. Kindly do not construe any such information as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( | [HIRE]( | [FIND JOBS]( P.S. 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