If you read recent news about the tech industry, all is gloom and layoffs are the norm. While tech talent has been worrying about job prospects – it is really not that bad. Therefore, it is refreshing to see some news about headquarters:
Used car platform Carsome, which raised US$290m series E at the beginning of this year, recently announced the expansion of its regional HQ in Malaysia, which now houses over 560 employees.
The company, which started in Malaysia but has businesses in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore, has also signed Eric Cantona as the new brand ambassador:
Momentum Works published Used Car Platforms in Southeast Asia in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic. The sector seems to be quite resilient throughout the pandemic, with leading players Carsome and its competitor Carro both constantly pushing for expansion plans.
Another company, which recently announced a new regional HQ, is in the food delivery industry, which we have tracked closely through our Food Delivery Platforms in Southeast Asia report.
Foodpanda’s new facility in Singapore houses around 1200 employees, including both regional and local operational teams.
Pau-Pau, Foodpanda’s new mascot after Korea’s Woowa Brothers team joined the regional’s management, is everywhere in this new facility:
Compared to regional competitors Grab and Shopee, whose headquarters are just a stone’s throw away (“easier to poach people from each other”) in Singapore’s tech park zone in the west, Foodpanda is in the league of Tencent, ByteDance and Alibaba/Lazada, which also set their regional or global headquarters in Singapore’s city center.
In a city as convenient as Singapore, where traffic is nowhere near the levels of other regional metropolises, the location probably does not matter as much in attracting the good talent. While the perks of a nice office do play a role, what is more important is probably the culture, the leadership and the prospects of the company.
At least, amid a downturn and layoffs, it is easier to source for good talent, as competition wears off.