Analyse Asia With Bernard Leong

Fresh out of the studio, Scott Beaumont, President Asia Pacific from Google joined us for an interesting conversation on why, what and how it takes to connect the next 2.5 billion people online in Asia. He discuss how COVID-19 has accelerated the digital adoption in Asia Pacific and broke down the key opportunities on how entrepreneurs can innovate and build their start-ups on the dynamics in the region. Last but not least, Scott offers his perspectives on the emerging technology trends and where they are heading from AI to quantum computing. If we're going to create equitable progress throughout Asia, then we need to make sure that everybody's got access to that technology. The demographics in Asia are astonishing.  Since COVID began, so 2019, in the last two years, we've seen about 217 million people come online for the first time, so a whole new Indonesia which is really quite remarkable.  What we want to do is make sure that they've got access to that technology, that they know how to use it, and that the

Fresh out of the studio, Michael Lints from Golden Gate Ventures discuss the Southeast Asia exit landscape for startups and what it means for investors all over the world. We discuss Michael's career and investment thesis as to what strengths and red flags he search in founders and start-ups. We dived deep into the exit landscape and explain how SPACs, direct listings and M&As will impact the startup ecosystem across Southeast Asia. At every single investor meeting, literally every single LP meeting. I got the same question. What is the exit landscape look like in Southeast Asia? The issue was that most exits were relatively small to other markets. The largest exits were at like around $200 million dollars. If you compare that to India or China, that's just a very small number. Every single LP was concerned that it's an emerging market. There's lots of happening under early stage, but at some point when we need liquidity as LPs and then where would that come from? - Michael Lints Podcast Information: The

In episode 347, John Artman, technology editor from South China Morning Post (SCMP) discuss the dawn of a new era for China technology from the annual SCMP China Internet Report 2021. We dived deep into three key topics: the tightening regulation and new legislation introduced by the Chinese government on anti-trust, data protection and usage and how it differs from GDPR by the European Union; the aggressive geographic expansion of Chinese tech into Southeast Asia and the exploitation of private domain traffic on e-commerce in China. "Historically, the Chinese government make these really big moves, and they make an example of one or two companies and then they move on. Then maybe in a couple of years, they'll come back and they'll make examples again. When we're looking at some of these unfair practices, on the one hand, we do have some very visible and very public moves against the technology industry. But I think that, over time, it'll be interesting to see, how compliant some of these platforms are." - Jo

In episode 346, Benedict Evans shares his perspectives on the history and trends of technology. Benedict explores the different narratives spanning across the mobile wars between Apple & Google, generational shifts in digital transformation of enterprises, the challenges of app stores and digital advertising & privacy. Last but not least, he asks the key questions on what's next for technology.   There's some industries where 10 years time is the next product cycle. There's some industries where, you know what your rent's going to be in 10 years time. There's other technology: 10 years is right on the edge of science fiction.  You really don't know what you know, anything beyond 10 years, you really don't know what's going to happen, except there'll be more stuff. - Benedict Evans Podcast Information: The show is hosted and produced by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin) and Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin, LinkedIn). Sound credits for the intro and end music: "Run it" by DJ Snake, Rick Ross and Ric

In episode 345, Shai Oster, Asia Bureau Chief from the Information joined our returning host, Bernard Leong to answer the most important question in Asia, "What just happened to the Chinese tech giants?" We dived deep on why they are facing a regulatory crackdown and its downstream impact not just to Chinese tech CEOs stepping down from their jobs but also to the successful US companies from Apple to Tesla that are based in China. "What Alibaba and Tencent have done is created national banking infrastructure. In China, national infrastructure is a national security. It's like highways, it's like power. And if huge amounts of your economy are being transacted behind closed doors effectively, through a private enterprise, that's not okay for the Chinese government." - Shai Oster, The Information The show is hosted and produced by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin) and Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin). Sound credits for the intro music: "Run it" by DJ Snake, Rick Ross and Rich Brian

Fresh out of the studio, Josh Ye, tech reporter from South China Morning Post (SCMP) joined us to discuss the evolution of Tencent, the tech giant in China specifically with respect to the recent gaming crackdown by the Chinese government. Josh discussed the impact of the regulations to the entire gaming industry and how Tencent will focus their efforts towards overseas expansion. Last but not least, he presented the future of the gaming industry in China.

Fresh out of the studio, Pradeep Parameswaran, President - Mobility from Uber APAC joined us in a conversation on Uber's continued focus on mobility in Asia Pacific and the future of mobility. We begin the conversation with Pradeep sharing his background and the key lessons learnt from his career journey. Following that, he dived deep into Uber's footprint in Asia Pacific excluding Southeast Asia and China and focus on the challenges and opportunities in expanding Uber's mission into new and uncharted areas. Last but not least, he also offered his thoughts on the future of mobility specifically on autonomous and electric vehicles and the likely impact to transportation in the near future for Asia Pacific.  

Fresh out of the studio, Jon Russell & Nadine Fresischlad from The Ken joined us to discuss the 40 billion Grab SPAC (and largest in the world till date) and its impact to the entire Southeast startup ecosystem. Kicking off the conversation, Jon and Nadine analysed why Grab decided to take the SPAC route, summarize the key takeaways from the current businesses to where future growth engines will come from. They discuss what it means for Uber, the investors, the employees, the startup and venture capital ecosystems across Southeast Asia. Last but not least, they examine what it means for their rivals competing in the Indonesia market: Goto and Sea Group. Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin). Sound

Fresh out of the studio, in episode 341, Zhou Xin, political economy editor from South China Morning Post, joined us in a conversation to discuss the Two Sessions in China for the year 2021, and what it means for the rest of the world. Zhou Xin dived deep into the key agenda for the Two Sessions for 2021 and how the Chinese government will focus on in the next 5 years from technology development to boosting the small and medium businesses segment in China. We discuss the implications on how the Chinese economy impacts the rest of the world for the year ahead. Special offer for our readers: SCMP has kindly offered a one-month free discount for 1-year subscription plan to all listeners of Analyse Asia podcast. Go to https://sc.mp/Analyse-Asia and enter the promo code: ANALYSEASIA, T&Cs details available at sc.mp/promo-code. Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPub

Fresh out of the studio, in episode 340, Rama Mamuaya from DailySocial in Indonesia joined us to discuss a potential merger between Gojek, Indonesia's largest ride-hailing app and Tokopedia, the largest ecommerce site in Indonesia, and what it would mean for the most important market in Southeast Asia as well as their key rivals: Grab and SEA Group with Shopee. Rama introduced the backstory of Tokopedia, and discuss the dynamics on how Tokopedia and Gojek would merge under a SPAC backed by Peter Thiel and Richard Li. He provided the key reasons to why Grab and Gojek will not merge and offered his perspectives on how this will mean for the future of Indonesia startup scene.

Fresh out of the studio, in episode 339, John Artman, the technology editor of South China Morning Post (SCMP) joins us on a conversation with China AI Deep Dive: Computer Vision Report 2020 published by SCMP research. We began the conversation with John’s reflections on the year of 2020 during the pandemic and then dived deep into the report, where John provide a comprehensive overview of the computer vision market in China with the four dragons: SenseTime, Megvii, CloudWalk and Yitu and what the tech giants in China are focusing on in the same sector. John also discuss the implications of the US-China tensions as to how it impact the CV market and offered his thoughts on where the key players will focus on, given the impending regulatory measures introduced by the Chinese government on data privacy and anti-trust. Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPub

Fresh out of the studio, in episode 338, Shai Oster, the Asia Bureau chief for The Information is back on his annual review with us again to discuss the state of China technology giants and SoftBank in the time of COVID-19 pandemic and predict what is to come in 2021. Starting the conversation, Shai reviewed the predictions he made in 2019 and explored the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on how they played out in 2020. From there, Shai reflected on the year that dominated the headlines in 2020: the diffusion of the China-US tensions to other regions: India and Australia against China tech giants, Tik Tok's problems in the US, Ant's botched IPO and SoftBank's attempt to go private. Last but not least, Shai offered his predictions for 2021 and what is to come for the Chinese technology giants and SoftBank for the year ahead. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Shai Oster (@beijingscribe, LinkedIn, TheInformation Profile), Asia Bureau Chief in The Information  So since your last app

In episode 337, Rui Ma from TechBuzz China podcast joined us in a conversation to break down what just happened to Ant Group's IPO and why it was halted at the eleven hour by the Chinese government. At the start of the conversation, Rui Ma shared the back story and explained how Ant Financial have built their business from the escrow and payments app to now a vast financial business with lending and investment services included. Last but not least, Rui Ma dived deep into the regulatory landscape and offered the different scenarios to when Ant Group might be able to IPO in the future. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Rui Ma, Creator & Host of Tech Buzz China podcast by Pandaily produced by SupChina (LinkedIn, @ruima) Since our last conversation in April 2020, what have you been up to?  Ant Group and why China slams the brakes on their IPO Before we start talking about the IPO, let’s understand the company a little bit more. Can you talk about how Ant Group was initially

In episode 336, Eugene Tang, business editor from the South China Morning Post (SCMP) joined us to discuss the China Fintech Report 2020 where he dissect the latest important trends in the fintech market. Eugene started the conversation with a story of his career and interesting learnings in his journey. From there, he dived into the key themes of the China Fintech Report 2020, from explaining how the fintech space in China are currently dominated by the tech giants in China, the impact of AI in the industry and most important, what the new digital cryptocurrency launched by China would mean for its domestic economy and the rest of the world. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Eugene Tang (LinkedIn), Business Editor, South China Morning Post (or SCMP in short) What is your current role and responsibilities as the business editor for South China Morning Post?  How did you get started in your career?  In your career journey, what are the key learnings you can share with our audie

In episode 335, Stephanie Davis, Vice President of Google Southeast Asia, joined us in a discussion on the latest e-Conomy Southeast Asia (SEA) report and dissect the latest digital trends and discuss how the different industries are moving under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stephanie started on the key themes, takeaways and intended audience for the report and broke down the key verticals which have benefitted during the COVID-19 pandemic and which industries have faced the strongest headwinds, for example travel. Last but not least, Stephanie offered an optimistic outlook to what 2021 will look life given the uncertainty ahead. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Stephanie Davis, Vice President, Google Southeast Asia (LinkedIn) What is your current role and responsibility in Google?  How did you start your career and end up in Singapore? In your career journey, what are the key learnings you can share with our audience here? e-Conomy Southeast Asia (SEA) 2020 by Goog

In episode 334, Matthew Brennan returned to discuss his new book "Attention Factory: The Story of Tik Tok & China's ByteDance". Matthew began with the inspiration and the key themes behind the first English book specifically focused on ByteDance, observing the rise of the company. He discuss the backstory of Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance and how he learned from his past experiences to build Toutiao first before embarking on Douyin that eventually led to Tik Tok. Last but not least, Matthew debunked the common misconceptions on Tik Tok and ByteDance, explained how their business models work and offered a glimpse to the challenges ahead for the company in the near future. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Matthew Brennan, Co-founder of China Channel and author of “ (chinachannel.co, @mbrennanchina , Linkedin, Wechat:Yowdy-CQ) As the highest recurring guest on the podcast, it’s great to welcome you back. First question: what have you been up to since our last conversati

In Episode 333, Nadine Freischlad, writer from The Ken, joined us in a conversation on the influence of both US and Chinese tech giants in the third most important market in Asia Pacific: Indonesia, the secondary exits spanned by venture capitalists and founders in Southeast Asia and the story of Kopi Kenangan in Indonesia. We began the story with Nadine's journey from startups to The Ken, and why Indonesia is an interesting and hot market after India and China. We discuss the influence of tech giants from US and China in Indonesia and how Google has fired the first salvo with bringing their cloud platform in Jakarta. Following on, Nadine explained why venture capitalists in Southeast Asia are exiting in secondary markets. Last but not least, she discuss why Kopi Kenangan in Indonesia will not follow in the footsteps of Luckin Coffee. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Nadine Freischlad, Writer, The Ken (@nfreischlad, LinkedIn, The Ken Profile, newsletter) How did you start y

In episode 332, continuing our last conversation with Benedict Evans, we discuss the major topics that are dominating the global technology landscape. First, Benedict dissect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and explain how the forced experiments will shift the immediate future where we work and interact with each other. Moving forward, he discuss what lies beyond the smartphone, specifically touching on VR and AR and analyzed why other technologies such as AI and blockchain are lurking in the background. Finally, he offers his perspectives on our expectations on technology with the dawn of 5G. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Benedict Evans (@benedictevans , LinkedIn, Personal Site, Essays, Newsletter), Venture Partner of Mosaic Ventures & Entrepreneur First & Independent Analyst COVID 19's Forced Experiments Reference: COVID and forced experiments, Presentations: Tech and the New Normal & Tech in 2020: Standing on the shoulders of giants and What comes afte

In episode 331, Benedict Evans, the independent analyst and venture partner from Mosaic Ventures & Entrepreneur First, joined us in the first of the two episodes to discuss the major topics that are dominating the global technology landscape. We began the conversation with his recent stint with Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in Silicon Valley and the key takeaways during his stay there. Then we dived deep into  the key topics which dominate the global technology landscape: tech regulation of the major Internet giants, the app store conversation featuring Fornite vs Apple and the decoupling of the global supply chain with China and India. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Benedict Evans (@benedictevans , LinkedIn, Personal Site, Essays, Newsletter), Venture Partner of Mosaic Ventures & Entrepreneur First & Independent Analyst When we had the first conversation with you, you were a partner in the renowned Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, the firs

In episode 330, Gareth Nicholson, deputy technology editor on the technology desk from South China Morning Post (SCMP), joined us to discuss the China Internet Report 2020 and its impact to the rest of the world. We discuss the key major trends: the impact of COVID-19 on China tech and how it transform food delivery, the accelerated self-reliance of Chinese companies due to the US and China tensions, the year of 5G for mass adoption in the Chinese domestic market, live streaming and ecommerce, and finally, why the Chinese companies are now moving their US listings back to China. Last but not least, Gareth shared the key trends that he will watch out for in 2021. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Gareth Nicholson, deputy Technology Editor on the Technology desk, South China Morning Post. Since our last conversation, what have you been up to? China Internet Report 2020 by South China Morning Post Now let’s talk about the report. It’s SCMP’s 3rd annual report, what are some of