Shopee's eyes profitable growth, but will it succeed?

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 Samreen Ahmad  Journalist  Hello {NAME} Ecommerce plays a crucial role in my daily life. Whether it’s groceries, medicines, or clothing, I depend on online shopping for my essential needs. The convenience and vast options offered by ecommerce players are hard to beat. I have attempted in-store shopping a few times, but online platforms consistently draw me back. So I was not surprised to learn that for Sea Ltd’s (SE, NYSE), its ecommerce arm Shopee accounts for nearly 70% of overall sales. Despite being in the red, its revenue and gross merchandise volume have experienced accelerating growth, pointing towards a promising year for the ecommerce company. Forrest Li, Sea Group’s CEO and founder, believes that Shopee will maintain its market share in 2024 even as it faces intense competition in Indonesia from a combined TikTok Shop-Tokopedia entity. This will go a long way towards building investor confidence in Sea’s growth prospects. But the question is, will this growth eventually translate into earnings? And if so, by when? My colleague Simon analyzes this and more in our Big Story this week. -- Samreen  ---------------------------------------------------------------  THE BIG STORY [Sea’s upbeat outlook on Shopee drives enthusiasm, but can it deliver?]( Sea ended the year with over US$8 billion in cash, short-term investments, and other liquid securities. ---------------------------------------------------------------  3 TRENDS TO KEEP EYE ON Hot stocks, earnings reports, restructuring, pressure from activist investors, and more. 1️⃣ Pulling the plug on BNPL: Indonesia-based Bukalapak (BUKA, IDX) has [discontinued]( its buy now, pay later service, BukaCicilan. The move comes after several companies including [Atome]( [ShopBack]( and [Pace]( have either scaled back their BNPL services or ceased operations altogether. The one bright spot is Indonesia’s Akulaku, which was [allowed]( to resume offering BNPL services after weeks of restrictions imposed by the country’s regulator. It will be interesting to see how Akulaku steps up its BNPL offering amid the retreat of so many players. 2️⃣ On-demand in the black: Southeast Asian super app Grab (GRAB, NDAQ) ended the December 2023 quarter on a profitable note. It posted a [profit of US$11 million]( a first for the Singapore-based company. The on-demand service of its Indonesian counterpart, GoTo (GOTO, IDX), also [turned profitable]( in Q4. As these companies turn the corner, it signals the coming of age of on-demand services in Southeast Asia and promises more riches for shareholders. 3️⃣ Nykaa (NYKAA, BSE) goes Nysaa: India-based Nykaa has kicked off its [international expansion]( after opening a store in Dubai. Called Nysaa Beauty Store, it will house over 150 international brands. The beauty ecommerce company aims to establish 100 Nysaa stores in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in the next five years. Baby ecommerce firm FirstCry, which plans to list in India this year, has also seen GCC's potential. The company intends to [allocate]( US$19 million from its IPO proceeds to enhance its presence in the region. The GCC may emerge as the next significant growth frontier for Indian ecommerce companies, which have been targeting increased order values.  2 EYE-POPPING NUMBERS Tech in Asia scours the internet to bring you head-turning numbers from the world of business. - [US$2.5 billion]( The valuation of Chinese AI startup MiniMax after a US$600 funding round led by Alibaba (BABA, NYSE) - [US$341 million]( The amount that Ant Financial Group fetched after selling a 2% stake in Zomato (ZOMATO, BSE), the India-based food delivery firm THE ONE YOU DIDN'T SEE COMING We spotlight the story that had everyone talking and social media buzzing during the past week. PropertyGuru (PGRU, NYSE) opts for layoffs to restructure: The proptech firm has [axed roughly 5% of its workforce]( - that’s 79 employees, to be precise. This was unexpected, considering PropertyGuru has been profitable for two consecutive quarters, generating [US$820,000]( in income for Q4 2023. CEO [Hari V. Krishnan]( cited changing customer needs and a volatile market in Southeast Asia as the main factors for the decision. This shows that profitability alone does not guarantee job security for employees in tech. There are numerous factors that could lead to job cuts, such as restructuring amid the emergence of generative AI. Only time will tell if PropertyGuru’s actions to ensure “long-term sustainability” will really pay off.  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. 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 © 2024 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894