Seoul’s urban logistics startup Naldo tripled its client base, grew revenue by 1,000% last year

Seoul-based urban logistics startup Naldo is gaining some serious momentum in its home country. The company, which works sort of like an Uber for last-mile deliveries, now boasts over 500 corporate customers, tripling its client base in the last year.

“We all buy more stuff online, but we are not aware that more online purchasing requires more offline delivery. That’s why this is an overseen goldrush for us,” Ebner-Chung says.

Among its clients are steel giant Posco, social commerce site Coupang, and investment bank Kyobo Securities. Naldo founder and CEO Ludolf Ebner-Chung says the company saw revenues grow 1,000 percent in 2014, with consistent double-digit growth every month since launching two years ago.

“There is still lots of room to improve the customer experience and increase service reliability,” he says. “As scale goes up, so will the quality of the service, because the more orders you have, the more drivers you can retain. And the more drivers you have, the faster you can react and provide service.”

Naldo received an undisclosed series A round of funding from Softbank Ventures Korea and Qualcomm Ventures in July last year.

Naldo works similar to other logistics-on-demand startups, like Gogovan and Easyvan in Hong Kong. With its mostly two-wheeled fleet, it promises delivery within 90 minutes in Seoul. The site connects clients directly to available nearby drivers with no middlemen involved.

Next, Ebner-Chung says the startup will soon launch a native app and an open API, which has already been tested by popular ecommerce sites like Ticketmonster, WeMakePrice, and Ridibooks. He says this will be of significant value to online SMEs as it gives them delivery options to gain an edge on their competition. It also reduces dependency on the old call center-based logistics companies.

“These mom-and-pop shops are happy with the current status, as they are profitable on a very small scale,” Ebner-Chung says of his antiquated competition. “However, we look at the bigger picture: there is massive potential to integrate the demand and supply. It cannot be that you have an industry based on thousands of providers with pricing intransparency and unhappy customers.”

Chung says South Korea’s B2B real-time delivery market is worth US$5 billion.

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Startup Asia Singapore 2015 will be bigger, better, and crazier than ever. Here’s why.

After our largest Startup Asia attendance to date – a record-breaking 2,202 participants atJakarta last November – we’re back with the 9th edition of our signature conference in the sunny island of Singapore, which is incidentally the home of Tech in Asia. On May 6 and 7,Startup Asia Singapore 2015 will take place downtown at the award-winning Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, which has hosted some of the biggest international and regional events around.

Looking back at our first Startup Asia conference held at Singapore Post Centre, we have certainly come a long way. From hosting 870 delegates in 2012, we saw 1,498 in 2014; from showcasing 70 product-ready startups, to over 100 now. This year’s Startup Asia Singapore will no doubt be bigger, better, and crazier.

What’s more, over the past month we’ve announced a slew of initiatives and segments that are new to our conference. Think free startup booths at Startup Asia Singapore 2015, more private and invite-only parties with Night Crawl, and a Bootstrap Alley tour that takes us to ten cities to find the best startups across Asia.

And we’re not done yet – we’re throwing in a bigger Bootstrap Alley segment housing more than 250 startups, a mobile app to help you navigate your way in Bootstrap Alley, a bigger cash prize of US$15,000 for Arena which brings together the hottest startups around the region, and an exclusive Investor Lounge for investors to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the conference.

Check out the beautiful poster below for more details on the popular highlights and what’s new at Startup Asia Singapore 2015.

Of course, we have not forgotten your favorite part of Startup Asia conferences – the content. So far, the likes of Kevin Hale from Y Combinator, Tomoko Namba from DeNA, and Tan Min-Liang from Razer have graced our event with their presence. These two days of sharing about the latest industry insights, trending topics, technical knowledge, and their personal journeys will undoubtedly knock your socks off. Stay tuned for more announcements about our mouth-watering lineup of speakers.

Simply put, there’s something for everyone here.

Entrepreneurs, come and get exposure and advice by exhibiting at Bootstrap Alley, battle it out with your fellow peers at Arena, and take part in our speed dating segments to pitch to investors, corporate representatives, and regional media.

Investors, there are plenty of deals and connections to be made. Over 250 exhibiting startups will be waiting for you. When you’re tired or need a private space for a quick Skype call, our new Investor Lounge will serve you well.

Executives, if your job requires you to be involved with the startup scene, this is the place to be – a melting pot of entrepreneurs and startups with diverse backgrounds across a wide spectrum of verticals in the tech industry. Our Jublia app will assist you in connecting to the right people.

Readers, if you like what you read on our blog, the insightful content on show at our industry-defining conference is something not to be missed. Be sure to make full use of the early bird discounts!

So come on down – we can’t wait to have you at Startup Asia Singapore 2015.

Early bird discount tickets are now available for purchase at 25 percent off till 7 February with the code techinasia. For more information and updates on the event, please visit the official website.

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Tech in Asia Investor Drinks goes to Kuala Lumpur

Last year, apart from our three major conferences in Singapore, Tokyo, and Jakarta, Tech in Asia also held 25 entrepreneur-focused Meetups across Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam.

This year, we’re changing it up a little to cater to the other side of the table: Investors.

On Thursday 29 January in Kuala Lumpur, we are hosting an invite-only informal drinks session for investors of all stripes: angels, VCs, institutional investors, family offices, and PE funds.

If you’re a investor and want to receive an invite, please email me at gwen at 2techasia.com

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[Hot] Beta begins for Heroes of the Storm in China, with big implications for China’s game market

In the world of games, everything comes to China late. So it is with Blizzard’s upcoming MOBA title Heroes of the Storm, which has finally begun its beta phase in China.

Generally speaking, a new game entering beta in China wouldn’t be of interest to those outside of the gaming world. China’s gaming market is massive, and new games launch every day.Heroes of the Storm is different, though. This is a game that everyone should be keeping an eye on. Here’s why:

Blizzard games have always done well in China. In a country where many Western game developers have struggled to find their footing, Blizzard has been thriving for over a decade. ItsWarcraft and Starcraft RTS games dominated the PC multiplayer games scene for years, and both are still incredibly popular for their age. And Blizzard’s MMORPG World of Warcraft has been and continues to be absolutely beloved by Chinese gamers. Nearly a decade after the game’s China launch, it still has dozens of active servers and Chinese gamers have created more than 140 million characters to play in the game. More recently, Blizzard’s new card battle game Hearthstone has also been met with open arms by China’s gamers.

Heroes of the Storm gameplay

But Heroes of the Storm represents Blizzard’s first official entry into the MOBA genre, a genre which ironically enough was first born in fan-made mods created for Blizzard’s Starcraft andWarcraft games. MOBA games are extraordinarily popular in China, and given the country’s love for Blizzard, Heroes of the Stormat first glance looks like a sure thing. If the game is a hit, it has the potential to produce another WoW-like windfall of cash for Blizzard and its China partner Netease. And like WoW, the game will be frequently updated, meaning that it could have very long-term staying power.

What’s interesting, though, is that this time Blizzard has some stiff competition. When theWarcraft and Starcraft RTS series were at their pinnacle, there were really no similar games available in China that offered the same level of quality. When World of Warcraft was released in China, there weren’t any other MMOs that could really offer a similar experience. With MOBA games, though, it’s a different story.

Heroes of the Storm is entering a market that is already saturated, and that features some clear favorites. Dota 2, the third-party successor to one of the mods that invented the MOBA genre to begin with, has an established fanbase already. So does Chinese-developed MOBA game Meng San Guo. But the biggest challenge to Heroes of the Storm will be League of Legends.

League of Legends, the undisputed king of China’s MOBA genre.

League is undeniably China’s most popular video game – it’s the most popular game in the world right now, actually – and it has held down the top spot for well over a year now. Its has tens of millions of players. Its popularity and growth is bolstered by its competitive scene: millions and millions of Chinese gamers tune in to watch professional League of Legendsteams compete in the country’s domestic league and in international tournaments.

The big question for Heroes of the Storm, then, is whether it can either supplant or co-exist with League of Legends in the Chinese market. Successfully achieving either is likely to be a challenge, as League‘s American developer Riot Games is owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent, which will likely fight hard to retain its spot at the top of China’s PC gaming charts.

Heroes of the Storm has the developer pedigree to take China by – heh – storm. But establishing this game as a success in China will be Blizzard’s biggest challenge yet. If it succeeds, the ramifications for China’s gaming market would be significant, likely knocking Tencent down a peg and bringing Netease back to the forefront of China’s games publishers, as well as disrupting the country’s eSports scene. If it fails, it will be the first time in recent memory that a Blizzard game hasn’t held a huge piece of the PC gaming market for its genre, and likely an expensive loss for Netease.

Either way, followers of China’s PC gaming market are in for an interesting ride.

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Want to start making online investments in Indonesia? Bareksa’s mutual fund marketplace is now live

Bareksa – one of Indonesia’s investment portal startups that synthesizes a trading platform for mutual funds with applicable editorial content and widgets for novice investors – took its mutual fund marketplace live today.

The mutual funds on Bareksa come from eight investment managers – both local and foreign – including CIMB-Principal Asset Management, Trimegah, Sinar Mas, Ciptadana, SucorInvest, andMega Asset Management.

“It is the first integrated online marketplace for mutual funds in Indonesia,” explains Karaniya Dharmasaputra, founder and CEO Bareksa. “On the Bareksa platform, users can simultaneously access the information, analysis, news, data, and financial widgets, as well as buy and sell mutual funds online.”

To manage the marketplace, Bareksa has appointed Buana Capital, a securities company member of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). During the month of January, Bareksa will have a total of 47 mutual funds available on its marketplace. Currently, the funds available for trading on Bareksa include equity, mixed, fixed-income, money market, index, and Islamic mutual funds.

“Some other investment managers, both foreign and local, are conducting due diligence on our platform at the moment and have committed to join immediately,” says Dharmasaputra, who remains confident that Bareksa’s offerings are sure to grow.

See: Bareksa is Bloomberg for beginners, changes the game for online trading in Indonesia

Deposits vs mutual funds

Dharmasaputra hopes his mutual fund marketplace can also shift the mindset of Indonesia’s fiscally conservative society away from saving and toward investing. “It is not the time anymore to think that saving or depositing money into the bank will double our savings,” says the the founder and former CEO of local news portal VIVA. “Indonesia will definitely move to follow the path that has been taken by developed countries […] And the internet will be the accelerator.”

Last year’s bank deposit interest rates eroded due to inflation, according to Bareksa, and deposit rates are now well below the returns of mutual funds in Indonesia. Dharmasaputra says that in 2014, the index of mutual funds and the Sharia Stock Index on the IDX generated returns of about 24 percent.

Meanwhile, the average deposit rate at state banks during a 12-month period delivered an 8.7 percent return (based on October data from the Bank of Indonesia).

Karaniya Dharmasaputra, founder of Bareksa.

Dharmasaputra argues that investing in mutual funds is also a better option because bank deposits in Indonesia are subject to an income tax of 25 percent plus administrative costs for the banks themselves. With the extra costs factored in, he says that deposit interest really only earned about 6.52 percent last year for those who squirreled their cash away in banks.

Potential of online investment

Currently, the penetration of general investment in Indonesia is still low. According to data from the Financial Services Authority, the total amount of money in local mutual funds was around Rp 192.5 trillion (US$15.4 billion) in recent years. Compared to other nations, that figure is still small. Dharmasaputra explains that it was only about two percent of Indonesia’s overall GDP. In the US, for example, the amount of money in mutual funds has reached 82 percent of the country’s GDP.

Dharmasaputra estimates only about 162,000 people have made an investment in Indonesian mutual funds. That is only about 0.07 percent of the population.

This year the government expects the number of investors in the capital market to reach one million people, according to Bareksa. To that end, the use of trading via the internet will be seriously encouraged. Last year, the number of internet users in Indonesia reached 83.6 million. Dharmasaputra says he is encouraged because that figure is expected to increase to 93.4 million or approximately 36.5 of the archipelago’s population this year.

UPDATE 1/16/15: This article has been updated to reflect that Bareksa’s marketplace deals exclusively in mutual funds, and does not offer trading in stocks or bonds at this time.   

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Why the Ministry of Defence is killing Singapore’s ambition of becoming an IP hub

“This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice.” What American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr said back in the early 1900s is as applicable today as ever. Dr. Ting Choon Meng, inventor of a mobile medical station called the Station With Immediate First-Aid Treatment (SWIFT) vehicle, will surely agree with this sentiment, given that the patent rights to his invention are on the verge of being revoked following a drawn-out court case with Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF).

The SWIFT vehicle was invented by Ting and his partners in 2001, following which he applied for – and successfully obtained – patent rights in several countries and regions, one of which was Singapore. His application to the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) was approved in 2005.

The court case first arose in 2012 when Ting and his partner Dr. Mak Koon Hou sued MINDEFfor copying their SWIFT vehicle, which was produced by the latter’s vendor Syntech Engineers. Unlike the Singapore Civil Defence Force, who used the vehicles in 2004 and paid the duo royalties, MINDEF skipped this step entirely and brought it to the public stage in a National Day Parade in 2011, where Ting spotted the vehicle.

What came next was two years of legal back-and-forth. According to Ting, MINDEF had lawyers from the Attorney-General of Singapore and the infamous Wong and Leow LLC fighting the case for them, and they “kept delaying the case, claiming their witness was not available.” As the legal fees accumulated, Ting eventually could not bear the costs and dropped the case in January 2014.

Here, MINDEF turned the tables on Ting. Their terms: he was to drop all claims to intellectual property and surrender his patent for the SWIFT vehicle in Singapore and the seven other countries the patent is registered in. In addition, Ting was to pay for MINDEF’s legal costs too – Wong and Leow LLC’s bill would come up to about S$580,000 (US$464,000).

A long way to go

This development is very worrying for the future of entrepreneurs in Singapore, especially in light of the country’s 10-year master plan to become Asia’s intellectual property hub. Clearly, there remain several loopholes in the system that require mending.

Since the court case was never concluded, it is unsure whether the verdict of Wong and Leow LLC’s lawyers that Ting’s patent “lacked novelty and/or inventive step” was really true. Curiously, instead of using this point to fight on legal grounds, MINDEF’s counsel chose to drag the case on for two years, eventually “winning” what Ting calls “a war of attrition.”

Assuming that its lawyers’ verdict was correct, it is strange that MINDEF neglected to go through the official process as outlined by IPOS and revoke Ting’s patent, which would have been fair. Instead, both MINDEF and the Defence Science and Technology Agency – which is under the former – went ahead to call a tender for a “Mobile First-Aid Post,” while not mentioning Ting’s patent at all.

This also questions the approval process conducted by IPOS’s Patent Search and Examination Unit. The patent examiners on this unit are charged with the responsibility to – according to the IPOS website – “investigate whether an invention is new and judge whether the invention has a technical and legal basis to be granted a patent in Singapore.”

It also seems that IPOS has no power to defend its patent approvals. Once the case goes to court, it is out of the hands of IPOS entirely, according to a statement from its representative:

This case in question is a civil suit. Parties who wish to pursue their case against granted patent have chosen to present them in the Court. The Court is the authority to administer a fair and just hearing to parties in dispute.

 

Through this incident, MINDEF has demonstrated how easy it is to bypass local intellectual property authorities – by going straight to the courts – and the danger now lies in whether private companies with deep pockets might follow suit. If so, then Singapore will start to become a very dangerous environment for fledgling startups to be in, with the looming threat of a large corporation swooping in and grabbing their innovations willy-nilly.

The only other way to avoid such shenanigans altogether would be if you’re an entrepreneur with deep relationships in government, because it would be extremely awkward for drinking buddies to take each other to court or rip off ideas. For Singapore’s many robotics companies that are dealing with government, one wonders if they’re worried that MINDEF might pull a similar stunt one day.

So yes, Singapore is an excellent intellectual property hub for those who have the cash and are able to fight to the death (legally), or are well-connected. For startups with neither, though, it is the complete opposite, and I won’t be surprised if local innovation takes a downturn in the near future.

source: techinasia.com

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China deleted over 3 million porn files in 2014

Zhou Huilin, a vice director of the National Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Office, told the official Xinhua news agency his office had been “remarkably effective” last year.

China has been cracking down on Internet porn for a decade and has been stepping up its oversight of the web in recent months. (AFP)

BEIJING: China deleted more than three million pieces of pornographic content from the internet in 2014, state media reported Saturday (Jan 10), as part of a campaign to cleanse the country’s online sphere.

Zhou Huilin, a vice director of the National Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Office, told the official Xinhua news agency his office had been “remarkably effective” last year.

China has been cracking down on internet porn for a decade and has been stepping up its oversight of the web in recent months. In 2006, a 28-year-old man who ran the country’s most popular pornographic website community, with up to 600,000 members, was sentenced to life in prison.

More than 10,000 websites or pages that contained what was described as illegal or harmful information were also shut down by authorities, Xinhua reported, without providing details. They also confiscated more than 16 million illegal publications – including 12 million pirated ones – and dealt with 212 cases that involved fake journalists or media organisations, Xinhua quoted Zhou as saying.

China has more web users than any other country in the world, with a government agency last year putting the figure at 632 million. The country is home to a huge e-commerce market and the internet has been used to spotlight government abuses, presenting a challenge to the ruling Communist Party.

Beijing maintains tight controls over online activity, blocking websites it deems politically sensitive in a system dubbed the “Great Firewall of China” and obliging social media companies to censor user-generated content.

source: http://2techasia.com/china-deleted-3-million-porn-files-2014/

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