Hi there, it’s Robin.

Southeast Asians are in for a treat as on-demand services seem to be ready to scratch every conceivable itch.

Right here in Singapore, pet owners can now commute with their pets, thanks to Grab. A beta version of GrabPet was launched this week. And just when the last-mile transportation industry seems to be all about electric scooters and bicycles, Grab is testing out the adoption of the three-wheeled vehicle, “Bajaj” as an alternative short-distance transport in Jakarta.

What about the need to be more environmentally friendly during longer rides? Grab is now looking at launching electric vehicles in Indonesia, not too long after introducing electric vehicles to its fleet in Singapore.

Go-Jek is also busy fundraising as it plans to offer more of its services across the region.

American Business Magazine Fast Company has recently ranked Grab second in its list of 50 most innovative companies in the world for 2019.

Meanwhile, the tech scene in China is experiencing a slowdown. After a number of big restructuring plans were announced among Chinese tech giants towards the end of last year, now some are undergoing major layoffs to prepare for a tough year ahead. Chinese ride-hailing darling Didi was affected and now JD.com is following suit.

Read on to find out more interesting stories from last week, and feel free to tip us if you have news or you just want to give us some feedback, email us at hello@kr-asia.com. We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Here are some stories you shouldn’t miss.

Southeast Asia

YouTrip assists Singapore Police Force to bust credit card fraud syndicate

PayPal to launch fintech education program in Singapore

Bigo kickstarts global expansion starting in India

Bukalapak to add Sharia-compliant investing feature, taking digital Islamic finance closer to mainstream

Seed-stage medtech startup See-mode raises $1m

Facebook’s first accelerator program in Asia kicks off, welcoming 11 startups

Go-Pay teams up with NGO Filantropi Indonesia for digital donation programme

Indonesian e-commerce pioneer Bhinneka opens official store – on Lazada

ABCC Exchange secures funding from crypto investors in Singapore

Thailand reveals plans for ‘ASEAN’s biggest digital innovation hub’

Indonesian state-owned mobile payment platform LinkAja will go online next week, with TCash integrated

China

Huawei’s risk to 5G networks “manageable”, says UK intelligence

Hong Kong-based edtech startup Acadsoc secures eight-figure Series C1 financing round

JD Finance comes under fire for privacy violations

Huawei founder says daughter’s arrest was politically motivated

Didi downsizes food delivery business in China but mulls launching the same in Latin America to compete with Uber

ByteDance’s Douyin launches first game to take on Tencent

With a mountain of backlogged video game license applications, China’s content regulator asks for a pause in submissions

Alibaba increases stake in investment bank CICC

ByteDance said to target $14.8b revenue in 2019, doubling what it made last year

Logistics firm Lalamove nabs $300m Series D funding

Klook appoints its first CCO in bid to expand global footprint

Insights/ Interviews

Southeast Asia’s burgeoning digital gaming market

Can an app streamline Singapore’s medical care?

Go-Pay rules Indonesia’s mobility payments, Ovo leads offline: Report