Much ado about the 31st ASEAN SummitThe highlight for this week was the conclusion of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Meetings which began last week.

The two titans of ride-sharing, home-grown Grab and American import Uber, have been doing battle for a few years. They have become fierce rivals and though Grab has taken a lead in Southeast Asia, Uber will likely not go down without a fight.There’s a good reason to stay and fight. The ride-sharing market in Southeast Asia is projected to be worth 13.1 billion dollars by 2025.

It’s no secret that Southeast Asia has become a hotbed for tech startups. Since 2012, there have been a number of tech companies that have become household names and changed the lives of people in Southeast Asia.

Big-name investors including Expedia and Alibaba are pumping billions of dollars into Indonesian tech start-ups in a bid to capitalise on the country’s burgeoning digital economy and potential as Southeast Asia’s largest online market.Indonesia has seen a surge of cash into its technology sector over the past two years, helping support dozens of homegrown start-ups ranging from ride hailing apps to e-commerce firms.And with a population of more than 250 million, a swelling middle class and gr

Go-Jek, Indonesia’s first billion-dollar startup, is looking to expand its ride-hailing services to three to four countries in Southeast Asia, escalating its rivalry with Grab and Uber Technologies.Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Nadiem Makarim didn’t specify the countries or services that Go-Jek will target, but said in an interview they will be places with a large population and where cash rules, hinting that Go-Jek’s digital payment service will be a key part of its push into new ma

When it comes to ride-hailing applications in Southeast Asia, Uber and Grab are just as well-known as SVoD (Subscription Video on Demand) service providers like Netflix and iflix. Apart from being at the top of their industry within the region, both sets of rivals share another thing in common, where one is a homegrown business while the other came from the US. There are many challenges faced by Uber in sustaining its application in Southeast Asia.