FOR centuries, Chinese entrepreneurs have ventured far beyond their homeland. Today, that legacy continues in technology.
Chinese founders have started eight unicorns in South-east Asia, including the region’s most valuable tech firm, Sea Group. This number makes up 13 per cent of all billion-dollar startups in South-east Asia.
We define Chinese founders as individuals who are Chinese nationals or naturalised Singaporeans originally from China.
These entrepreneurs also launched third-party logistics company J&T Express, artificial intelligence (AI) firm Advance Intelligence Group along with its subsidiary Advance.ai, banking and digital finance platform Akulalu, livestreaming app Bigo, and blockchain ventures Amber Group and Matrixport.
Many Chinese founders are also discreet, and a number of them do not even have LinkedIn profiles. We have compiled this list of Chinese founders in South-east Asia to offer an inside look at this influential yet elusive community.
Singapore hosts most of the 52 companies started by Chinese entrepreneurs on our list. Just three of these businesses are based in Indonesia.
It’s also no surprise that regional startups founded by Chinese entrepreneurs tend to attract more investors from China. Tech in Asia’s data shows that 23 per cent of the backers for these firms are Chinese funds.
In contrast, among the investors of the region’s 60 unicorns, only 10 per cent are Chinese investors.
Blockchain and AI are the most prominent sectors, with 20 and 12 firms, respectively.
As South-east Asia’s financial hub, Singapore has a progressive regulatory environment for blockchain companies. This makes the city-state a popular choice for Chinese founders in the sector, as regulators in their home country have been less welcoming, especially towards cryptocurrency-related firms.
Meanwhile, more AI startups from the country have recently set up shop in Singapore in a bid to access both their home market and the West. This has become increasingly important as US-China tensions rise in the semiconductor and AI race.
The strategy has drawn criticism, though, with some calling it “Singapore washing”.
It’s not just emerging startups that are heading to South-east Asia. Shein, one of the biggest e-commerce players in China, has relocated to Singapore. Bigo, a popular livestreaming app that is valued at US$2.1 billion, is also registered in the city-state, even though its parent company, Joyy, is headquartered in China.
Having Singapore as a second home is not new. Many owners of big Chinese companies now live there.
The list includes founders from tech giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance. Owners of non-tech businesses such as Haidilao Hotpot have also made the move.
High-profile investors, such as HongShan (formerly Sequoia China) founder Neil Shen and Boyu Capital co-founder Sean Tong, have reportedly obtained permanent residency in Singapore.
With this community set to grow more robust, South-east Asia’s founders may want to watch the trend.
One example they could follow is J&T Express, founded in Indonesia in 2015 by former Oppo executive Jet Lee.
The firm initially handled logistics for Oppo’s e-commerce operations in the archipelago. Leveraging that network, J&T quickly expanded across South-east Asia and later into China.
Backed by Chinese investors such as Tencent, Hillhouse, and Boyu Capital, J&T has raised a staggering US$4.5 billion (excluding its IPO), which is over 4x the capital of rival and fellow unicorn Ninja Van.
The substantial funding has allowed J&T to offer cutthroat prices, helping it dominate South-east Asia’s logistics market as the top player for five straight years.
J&T is unlikely to be the last Chinese-founded company to disrupt the region. TECH IN ASIA
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