Follow the leader: how Bukalapak’s Teddy Oetomo heads his pack
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Hello reader,
Meeting well-known corporate leaders and founders is one of the perks of being a Tech in Asia journalist.
I was looking forward to hearing from Teddy Oetomo, president of Bukalapak, at our annual conference in Jakarta last week. I regularly listen to him lead the ecommerce company’s earnings calls, and I’ve found him to be sharp but also patient when replying to questions that can be tedious.
Oetomo’s session was titled “What it takes to run a public company,” so I naturally expected to hear about his war stories and perhaps some juicy behind-the-scenes details.
However, as is often the case with these panels, the actual discussion somehow veered away from what was stated in the title.
I was a little disappointed initially, but ultimately I was glad that Oetomo went beyond dishing out catchy tidbits for wannabe CEOs and nosy journalists.
Instead, his session focused on lessons about leadership - and even life in general.
Read this week’s premium story to learn more about what Oetomo had to say!
-- Simon Huang
THE BIG STORY
After taking the ecommerce firm public and refocusing its business, Teddy Oetomo shares what he’s learned three years into the role.
3 Trends to keep an eye on
Hot stocks, earnings reports, restructuring, pressure from activist investors, and more.
1?? A bolt from the blue: Bolttech, a Singapore-based insurtech firm, is considering a US listing that may raise up to US$300 million.
The company is backed by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li. Its parent FWD had postponed plans to IPO in Hong Kong twice.
If Bolttech proceeds with listing in the US, it would mark yet another victory for the country’s stock exchanges over other global bourses. Many companies are willing to take the risk of going public in a market where they aren't household names for the promise of deeper liquidity, pools of capital, and investors’ familiarity with tech businesses.
It could also suggest that Hong Kong’s plutocrats have joined their mainland peers in wanting to take their chips outside of China.
2?? Stronger together?: Chinese tech giants Alibaba (BABA, NYSE), Tencent (0700, HKG), and Xiaomi are backing local AI startup Baichuan in a US$300 million funding round.
Alibaba and Tencent don’t often play on the same team, but perhaps this is a sign of the potential they see in Baichuan’s products. Baichuan is developing a service similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT and has two proprietary platforms in the pipeline.
领英推荐
Meanwhile, Baidu (9888 HKG) has just unveiled the latest version of its AI chatbot. Ernie 4.0 “is not inferior in any aspect to GPT-4,” the company said.
The three titans used to be collectively known as “BAT” before Baidu started lagging behind. In just a year since it broke into the wider tech landscape, generative AI has certainly shook things up.
3?? Cook in Chengdu: Apple (AAPL, NDAQ) CEO Tim Cook made an appearance at a Tencent gaming tournament in China, which was held at an Apple store in Chengdu.
This visit comes even as reports indicate that sales of the newest iPhone model in China are sluggish.
China remains vital since the country is Apple’s biggest market after the US and manufactures most of the company's products.
Tech in Asia recently spoke to an American who occupies a senior position in a Chinese tech firm. Despite the rhetoric from politicians in both countries, business people generally want to continue building relationships with each other.
The fate of Apple and many other companies will hinge on how well they are able to walk this tightrope.
2 Eye-popping facts
Tech in Asia scours the internet to bring you head-turning numbers from the world of business.
The one you didn’t see coming
We spotlight the story that had everyone talking and social media buzzing during the past week.
“We are way too late”: That’s not something you’d typically hear a senior executive tell a media outlet.
But that’s exactly how Chiang Shang-Yi, chief strategy officer at Foxconn (2354, TPE), described the company's ability to produce the most advanced semiconductor chips.
In light of this, the company - officially called Hon Hai - would instead focus on manufacturing “speciality chips,” which are used in the automotive and internet-of-things industries, Chiang said. Making these chips requires more mature technology.
Such honesty is refreshing. And it also goes to show that even in the fast-moving tech industry, one doesn’t have to be on the cutting edge to do well. Foxconn’s shares have been up by over 20% in the past year.
That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it!
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.