Yang Gao

"Acquiring Growth: Grab's Strategic Acquisition Moves in the Ride-Hailing and Food Delivery Space" 📊 Objectives and Outcomes Grab's acquisition of Chope and its attempted acquisition of Trans-cab had varying outcomes.  The Chope acquisition aimed to enhance Grab's food and beverage offerings, providing more synergies for its merchant partners, especially in helping them capture online-to-offline opportunities. With over 13,000 restaurants in its network, Chope has seated over 110 million diners and helped maximize business for more than 8,000 restaurants around Asia.  In contrast, the Trans-cab deal aimed to expand Grab's ride-hailing services, but was blocked by regulatory concerns. 🍴 Unlocking Dining Opportunities Grab's acquisition of Chope is a strategic move to bolster its omnicommerce strategy and capture the dining out opportunity. With Chope's mature reservations and table management system, Grab aims to extend its services to its merchant-partner base across the region. The acquisition will also strengthen Grab's relevance as consumers' preferred everyday super app. By cross-selling Chope's services to its merchant-partners, Grab can create a stronger, more holistic online-to-offline value proposition for merchants and users in Southeast Asia. 🚨 Regulatory Scrutiny and Competition Concerns In contrast, the Trans-cab deal was blocked by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) due to concerns about reduced competition and Grab's already-dominant position in the ride-hailing market. Grab's market share in the ride-hailing industry is significant, with over 85,097 private-hire cars as of June this year, compared to Trans-cab's fleet of 2,500 taxis. Grab's dominance in the ride-hailing market may limit its ability to acquire other players, while its expansion into new areas like food and beverage may be less scrutinized. 🚗 Impact on Consumers, Drivers, and Fares With 13,436 taxis operating in Singapore as of June this year, Trans-cab drivers may face uncertainty about their long-term prospects. Consumers may also benefit from the continued presence of Trans-cab as a competitor to Grab, which has a large market share of private-hire cars. The deal's failure may not significantly impact Grab's ability to set prices, as it is already a dominant player in the market, with over 72,632 private-hire cars at the end of 2022. The failure of the Trans-cab deal may lead to Trans-cab exploring partnerships with non-dominant players in the point-to-point industry. With private-hire cars increasing by 17.4% from 72,632 at the end of 2022 to 85,097 as of June this year, Trans-cab may need to adapt to changing market dynamics. As Grab continues to explore partnerships and acquisitions, its future growth and success will depend on its ability to navigate these complexities and adapt to changing market dynamics. https://lnkd.in/gcqAnYJu

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🌏 **Driving Growth in ASEAN, Taiwan & Japan Markets** 🚀 This is Jeffrey’s annual purchasing habit. Never stop learning new trend, market, and customer. Digital marketing is all about making connections that matter. The ASEAN,Taiwan and Japan markets are evolving fast, and staying ahead of these trends is key to success. 📊 Excited to share insights from the latest market trend report—helping brands unlock new opportunities in these dynamic regions. Let’s lead with innovation and drive impactful results together. P.S Explore and shape 2025 in advance. 🤣 #DigitalMarketing #ASEAN #Japan #Taiwan #MarketTrends #Growth #2025

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As a former APAC Product Performance Manager at foodpanda, part of the Delivery Hero family, I had the privilege of working on various facets of customer, rider, and vendor experiences across multiple countries in #APAC. Our team collaborated closely with tech and product teams in Germany navigating a landscape rich with complexity, information, policies, and requirements. Given this experience, I’m particularly excited about Delivery Hero's latest innovation #EmployeeGPT, an #AI-powered internal #knowledge solution leveraging a large language model (#LLM). This game-changing solution extracts data from various sources, understands queries and formulates accurate answers, all while utilizing Retrieval Augmented Generation (#RAG) to avoid #hallucinations and keep #costs in check. The #productculture, #experimentation, and #analytics at Delivery Hero are top-notch, and it’s inspiring to see these values reflected in their approach to measuring success for this solution: multiplying the number of queries by the average time saved per query to calculate man-hours saved. I’m sure there's also a keen eye on the cost element, ensuring the solution delivers maximum value. Kudos to the team behind this incredible solution! #AI #Innovation #ProductManagement #DeliveryHero #LLM #RAG #InternalKnowledge

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Are you ready to harness the transformative power of AI and Generative AI (GenAI) to drive innovation and growth for your business? Join us at Google Cloud Summit Hong Kong 2024 for an immersive experience into the latest AI and GenAI advancements. Discover how these cutting-edge technologies are revolutionizing industries and empowering businesses to achieve new heights of success. Register for Google Cloud Summit Hong Kong 2024 today! #AI #GenAI #GoogleCloudSummit #HongKong

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ESOPs in Asia. What do they mean? What do they look like? And do they work? The team here at Carta, a long with Saison Capital and XA Network has come together to produce a data driven report on The State of ESOPs in Asia. Click the link below to get your copy. Shout out to Stephanie Y. and Vanessa Chin for leading this from Carta’s end!

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📣 THIS JUST IN!! Check out our latest guide: The Power of Media Quality: How APAC Marketers Can Leverage Media Quality for Better Advertising ROI. The APAC media landscape is undeniably distinct, requiring marketers to have tailored insights. Our guide offers essential knowledge on media quality and performance solutions to help you maximize ROI across digital campaigns in APAC. Download a copy here: https://buff.ly/3AKtWeJ #digitaladvertising #verification

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🚀 Exciting times ahead in digital advertising! 🚀 Retail Media Networks (RMNs) are set to revolutionize both brand & performance advertising globally and in Southeast Asia. RMN ad spend is projected to grow by 73% globally & surge to $4.7 billion by 2030 in SE Asia. Why? RMNs leverage first-party data for precise targeting and seamless transactions. Unlike traditional search and social ads, RMNs provide a full-funnel solution, driving both awareness and conversions. Brands in SEA, especially on superapps like Grab can harness this trend to enhance their ad effectiveness. #DigitalAdvertising #RMNs GrabAds + Kantar Read more [here](https://lnkd.in/gqARVJ8z).

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🌟 Struggling to keep up with the fast-changing world of digital advertising? You’re not alone— Tune into Trillion Dollar Ads for exclusive insights from top industry minds—especially focused on APAC! Get a sneak preview of what our guests are saying on the podcast ! 💰 Retail Media: Discover how it’s on track to become a $200B market 🔐 Privacy & Identity: Big Tech is feeling the heat 📊 Cross-Platform Measurement: With so many screens, better metrics are essential—hear what’s next. 🤖 AI in Content & Planning: The AI revolution is here, but will it disrupt agency models or create new opportunities? 🎧 Don’t miss out on Trillion Dollar Ads JJ Eastwood Prantik Mazumdar Jordan Khoo Subscribe now on Spotify or Apple and tune in Spotify - https://lnkd.in/ghzZs-S6 Apple Podcast - https://lnkd.in/ggkKmhME https://lnkd.in/gxqd3Rv6 #retailmedia #advertising #adtech #programmatic #ott #marketing #media #data #privacy

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Google invests in Thailand! We announced a whopping $1 billion investment to supercharge Thailand’s digital scene. It’s not just about dollars this is about the ecosystem- building up the digital backbone, pushing for smart AI use, getting everyone on the cloud train, and making sure people have the skills to ride this digital wave. 🚀💻 By 2029, this will positively impact Thailand’s GDP by $4 billion, the 14,000 potential jobs each year from 2025 to 2029. South East Asian markets like Thailand are stepping up to the global tech stage. Can’t wait to see the impact of getting everyone AI-savvy! Stay tuned! Read more: https://lnkd.in/gAQqMfQ4 #DigitalThailand #GoogleInvests #TechForAll

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Growth happens where comfort ends. In this episode of #SuccessfulPerspectives, I'm joined by Shant Oknayan, ByteDance's Vice President of Global Business in Asia, Oceania, and Africa, to discuss his journey of success in leadership. How has discomfort helped your career growth? Please share below.👇 ➡️ Watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/dRBw3SYR Emerging Markets Intelligence & Research | EMIR, an exclusive boutique advisory and research firm, harnesses the extraordinary network effect of Boardroom by EMIR. With an invite-only approach, an EMIR engagement can only begin at the highest levels - the Board, the CEO, and the minister. Learn more about EMIR: https://lnkd.in/dC3tStms #SuccessfulPerspectives #Advisory #Insights #EMIRinsights #Boardroom #Leadership #MiddleEast #Networking #CEOs

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Day 14 of #USvGoogle started with Google Finance Director, Jessica Mok. Google tried to minimize the financial importance of its adtech business, showing that it operated at a loss from 2015-2017, to downplay the role of display in generating revenue, and land an out-of-context soundbite about how much they pay publishers. On cross, DOJ highlighted that Google tracks revenue separately for display, video and app inventory, and for direct vs. indirect-sold inventory supporting their market definition argument. DOJ also pointed out that Google decides whether to classify revenue as principal or agent, which informs whether Traffic Acquisition Costs (”TAC”), money paid to publishers, is included in their figures. Obviously, without TAC, booked revenue will appear lower, and margin will appear higher. Google then called Dr. Mark Israel to play some more number games. He is an economics expert, and his analysis is central to Google’s case. While I expected something at least somewhat compelling, instead we got analysis that appears completely detached from reality. Google seems to want to pretend their publisher customers simply do not exist. While DOJ’s case focuses primarily on harm to publishers, there was a 30 minute stretch of time at the beginning of Israel’s testimony where his only mention of anything publisher-adjacent was to explain the origin of the “cellophane fallacy” as the theory that prices for cellophane might go up so much that people resort to wrapping their sandwiches in newspaper. He starts by refuting the DOJ’s definition of 3 distinct markets, proposing instead that adtech is a single two-sided market. He says that DOJ excludes other places advertisers find impressions, other ways “connections” to audiences are made, and the other types of adtech that exist. No mention of publishers. He talks about shifting media consumption trends, highlighting growth of apps and mobile environments, as well as the growth of ad spend on social, and the rise of retail media. Still, no mention of publishers. He talks about how social and retail media companies act as competitive restraints on Google and serve as reasonable substitutes…again, with respect to advertisers. Google even pulls up a deck to make their point that compares Google and Amazon, and explicitly references the fact that Amazon does not offer a publisher ad server, while Google has DFP. Finally he mentions publishers, to say that if ROI for advertisers were to fall, both advertisers and publishers might switch. For example, he says, publishers might move to a different exchange, move more of their content to apps, or adopt a subscription model. Soon after, he explains publishers can move more of their inventory from indirect to direct sales. It’s about “how hard sales people work” to sell direct. A few minutes later, he suggests that if Google’s publisher ad server isn’t good, advertisers might switch to Facebook. I literally wrote “What??” in my notes. (more in comments)

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Sharing two milestones as we're about to enter Q4 (already!!??) with a bang! 💥 ✨ We’ve reached profitability in Singapore in Q2 this year! A key milestone that reflects not just growth, but smart, sustainable growth that we’re incredibly proud of. And that’s not all… 💥 We’ve secured USD 5 million in debt financing. This funding will fuel our growth and enable us to continue delivering smarter solutions for entrepreneurs in #Singapore, #Australia, #HongKong and the #UK. From a small team in 2017 to now serving 15,000+ businesses globally, I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve built together. A special shout-out to our incredible team, our innovative tech, and of course, our amazing clients who trust us with their businesses every day. But what excites me most is the future. With these new resources, we’re doubling down sustainably on our mission to make life easier for entrepreneurs, and we’re just getting started. Here’s to more growth, more innovation, and more success for everyone! #Entrepreneurship #GrowthJourney #Innovation

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I recently joined the Podcast du Luxe by Lou DANA for an insightful conversation about the luxury e-commerce industry and the journey behind scaling digital platforms like Vestiaire Collective and Lazada. In this episode, we cover key topics including: •⁠ ⁠How to Build a Successful C2C Platform: I dive into the challenges and opportunities of creating and scaling a customer-to-customer business in the luxury market. •⁠ ⁠The Evolution of E-Commerce: We explore how the e-commerce space is evolving with more social and gamified elements, making shopping for luxury more engaging. •⁠ ⁠Sustainability in Fashion: I share my thoughts on why second-hand fashion is crucial to tackling overconsumption and pollution from fast fashion. 🔗 Listen NOW : ⁠  Spotify 🎧 : https://lnkd.in/gnwC83A7  Apple podcast 🎧 : https://lnkd.in/gn6V-5Z2  Deezer 🎧 : https://lnkd.in/g73uu6gG Hope you will enjoy our talk !

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Amid fluctuating markets and evolving customer preferences, how do businesses reach their audiences successfully? Take a leaf from Hong Kong. Companies, from rising brands to unicorns, are using AI to grow at home and abroad. Brands like Klook, Futu Holdings and Airwallex are using AI-powered strategies to be highly relevant to customers on a large scale, grow a high-intent user base efficiently and generate demand in existing and new markets. Indeed, with AI marketing, the world is their oyster. It can be yours too. Learn more in this article on how to put these strategies to work for your business:

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Article below gives a really good POV on effectiveness of digital platforms and TV when driving offline and online sales. thanks to the work by Kantar!

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These stats out of Hong Kong really illustrate why an omnichannel approach across the open internet is critical for brands who want to reach a premium audience. 16% of Hong Kong internet users are YouTube premium subscribers, compared to the global average of 12.7%. But this 16% of users represents a huge missed opportunity for advertisers. They’re 43% more likely to be interested in cars, 27% more likely to be interested in beauty and cosmetics products, 20% more likely to be interested in fashion, and 98% more likely to be an expectant or new parent. So how do advertisers reach this segment? The ratio of time consumers spend on the open internet compared to walled gardens is 59% to 41% in APAC. Shifting budget to open internet channels such as Connected TV, and using an omnichannel approach is the best way to start. There’s some more interesting details from MARKETING-INTERACTIVE at the link in the comments.

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Want to stay ahead of consumer insights? 🌏📈 Check out TikTok's latest report developed in collaboration with Accenture. Titled "Shoppertainment 2024: The Future of Consumer & Commerce in APAC," this whitepaper provides insight into future consumer behavior, preferences, and expectations. This year, there's a trend in APAC Consumer Habits, focusing on value over price, as shown in the latest TikTok report. It reveals that most APAC consumers prioritize value, with 79% influenced by content highlighting product value over discounts. Discover how this affects your business's TikTok strategy here: http://ms.spr.ly/6048YDPnw #LifeatTikTok

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