SINGAPORE: Recent reports about Alibaba’s US$3 billion investment into Grab has raised speculation about the terms of the investment as well as the merits and the challenges of this potential major tie-up.

The Alibaba Group has long desired to become a global brand.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2015, Jack Ma made publicly known that the Group’s goal is to serve two billion consumers, and detailed its intentions of becoming a global company to achieve that aim.  

ALIBABA’s INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS

Armed with technology, experience and capital as well as a strong track-record, Alibaba, Ant – previously known as Ant Financial – and other affiliate companies have made multiple attempts to build up their presence in markets, including Southeast Asia and India.

AliExpress, its business-to-consumer (B2C) cross-border ecommerce platform, has been successful globally, with most of its customers in countries like Russia, France, Spain and Poland.

With operations in more than 200 countries and regions, AliExpress is the most visible Alibaba company outside of China.

READ: Commentary: Retail in China has exploded with online sales agents. Now Walmart wants in

Many other bigger business arms have fallen short of expectations. Alibaba Cloud has not become a viable competitor to Amazon Web Systems (AWS). 

For the financial quarter ended December 2019, Alibaba Cloud earned revenue of US$1.5 billion, placing fourth in the market, behind Google, Microsoft and leader AWS, which reported just under US$10 billion for the period.

Paytm, the Indian mobile payment and financial services company, which counts Alibaba and Ant as major shareholders, is fast losing market share. Its multiple bids into e-commerce in India have all failed.

In Southeast Asia, Alibaba’s acquisition of Lazada in 2016 was hailed as a start of many great things to come. The group also invested billions into Indonesia’s leading consumer ecommerce platform Tokopedia, dubbed “Indonesia’s own Taobao” by Chinese media.  

Ant also came in aggressively, building mobile wallet joint ventures across the region, acquiring merchants to accept Alipay payment from Chinese tourists and investing in the region’s major fintech ventures with Chinese founders. 

Indonesia-focused Akulaku and Thailand-based Bluepay are two such examples.

However, Ant has also seen a fair share of frustration with its partners. This was the case in its joint venture in Indonesia with Emtek backing digital payments firm Dana. The two partners reportedly differed on how much control Ant should have.

READ: Commentary: The biggest IPO in history is happening but millions may miss out

READ: Commentary: How Tencent became world’s most valuable social media company – and then everything changed

Almost all of Alibaba’s ventures in the region have fallen short of expectations in 2020, in part due to missing Chinese tourists from Southeast Asia’s cities and beaches owing to travel restrictions. 

Even Wall Street is waking up to the fact that Lazada is falling behind Shopee, owned by Tencent-backed Sea Group. Consequently, Sea Group’s share prices have surged 800 per cent year in one and a half years. 

A YEAR OF MULTIPLE ASSAULTS IN CHINA

Let’s also not forget what’s happening in China when looking at Alibaba’s global strategy. Domestic developments sometimes offer a preview of what is to come in other emerging markets. 

Moreover, the Group’s priority has always been to defend its dominance in the Chinese ecommerce market.

First, long-time rival JD.com, has shaken off its strategic missteps and sexual assault allegations against its founder Richard Liu in the US. Its share price has doubled this year.

Pinduoduo, an upstart competitor, has continued its meteoric surge to take market share from the lower end of the e-commerce market, namely Alibaba’s Taobao.

Although people remains stumped by how Pinduoduo achieved a US$15 billion gross market valuation in two years when it took Alibaba five, the market is rewarding it. Its share price more than doubled this year and its potential tie-up with Indonesia-born J&T Express in China has bridged a key gap in its e-commerce play – logistics.

A bigger threat however, seems to be Meituan, which started as a group buy deals site but has over the years emerged to become the biggest food delivery company in China and has now expanded to groceries, retail, shared power banks and payments.

Its relentless drive for optimisation made the company, which recently posted a surprise second quarter profit of 2.21 billion yuan, a formidable player in the local space, beating Alibaba-owned ele.me. Alibaba’s Hema Fresh and Tmall Supermarket are also threatened by Meituan’s fast delivery capabilities.

GRAB IS IMPORTANT TO ALIBABA

With competition intensifying within China, Alibaba’s success in Southeast Asia has become even more important as the Group looks globally to diversify its income sources.

READ: Commentary: A Digital Iron Curtain may be descending between the US and China

READ: Commentary: Alibaba makes a whopping US$28 billion bet on its next breakthrough act

To stay relevant in Southeast Asia, Alibaba needs to re-assess its strategy and make big adjustments in both operations and investment.

Grab, in business model and trajectory, resembles Meituan in its earlier days. The company started with ride-hailing, a sector it still dominates across the Southeast Asian region.

Its food delivery and on-demand express deliveries are leading in most of the markets in the region. And it has a head start in the payments and financial services spaces.

What Grab has to offer complements Alibaba’s areas of focus – in e-commerce and fintech businesses – and neatly fits into what Alibaba would like to have, namely on-demand logistics infrastructure, regional know-how and established partner networks in each country in Southeast Asia.

So strategically it makes a lot of sense for Alibaba to take a stake in Grab – never mind that Softbank is a significant shareholder of both and may be driving some form of consolidation behind the scenes.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR GRAB?

As for Grab, with its “super app” ambitions, the Alibaba investment could open up new opportunities. 

READ: Commentary: Does the ride-hailing industry have a sexual harassment problem?

Grab does not have a strong exposure to e-commerce. Partnering with Lazada through Alibaba will enable it to grow its logistics network.

In the short term, any significant cash infusion will strengthen Grab’s position, especially facing Delivery Hero in food delivery and GoJek in ride-hailing in the region.

The former has been running aggressive promotions in multiple markets in Southeast Asia through subsidiaries Foodpanda and Baemin while the latter competes against Grab in Indonesia, although it trails behind in the payments space. With new funding from Alibaba, Grab can focus on building its services while keeping the company on the path of profitability.

The removal of various Ant-backed wallets as competition would also make it easier for Grab to scale up financial services to the wider region. There have been multiple reports of a potential merger between OVO and Dana, two major wallets and payment systems backed by Grab and Ant respectively in Indonesia. More such talks might follow.

POTENTIAL CHALLENGES

Ultimately, all these synergies will only translate into real benefits if both parties execute their partnership well.

A particular challenge is Alibaba’s tendency to exercise great control of its portfolio companies despite having lesser understanding of the Southeast Asian market. Many say this explains Lazada’s and ele.me’s underwhelming performances.

READ: Commentary: Is trouble brewing in Grab paradise?

READ: Commentary: Grab’s new platform fee may have raised eyebrows but it is nothing out of the ordinary

“Some Alibaba executives sent to Lazada have the natural tendency of pushing things the Alibaba way because it proved right in China,” I said in a news report in March explaining how Alibaba’s control of Lazada was creating unhappiness among the ecommerce company’s staff. 

There will be tensions since Grab is also unlikely to cede control to Alibaba, given its deep roots in the region and the presence of founders who have remained in the company since day one.

People often cite Tencent, which backed the Sea Group very early on, as a good example of a strategic investor who gives unconditional support and leaves portfolio companies to run their own businesses.

It is worth noting that Tencent was not always like this – it learnt its lesson and changed its stance after its epic battle with Chinese Internet security company Qihoo360 a decade ago when both parties accused each other of anti-competitive practices and took each other to court.

After the Chinese government stepped in to resolve the issue and both companies made public apologies, Tencent’s founder Pony Ma publicly reflected on the incident, the lessons the group learnt and acknowledged it might have overreached.  

Another potential challenge is the larger effort needed to align Grab’s vision and expectations as more stakeholders are brought into the picture.

Either way, a new chapter of Southeast Asia’s tech development will commence if this tie-up materialises.

Li Jianggan is founder and CEO of Momentum Works, a Singapore-based venture outfit. He was also previously MD Singapore of Foodpanda, co-founder and Regional MD of Easy Taxi.

SINGAPORE: Women’s rights advocates woke up to a pleasant surprise on Sunday (Sep 20) morning when the Government announced Singapore’s first-ever review of women’s issues, with a view to identifying and tackling gender inequality.

Besides the announcement itself, the way the review was framed is extraordinary. Instead of focusing on short-term concerns, the review will look at “underlying, structural issues”, to ensure that gender equality becomes a fundamental value.

For a society where that principle is, unfortunately, not enshrined in its Constitution, this shift is all the more laudable.

For far too long, we have foregrounded individual examples of the discrimination, exploitation, harassment and objectification that women confront in numerous arenas. We focus on each week’s carousel of stories on over 400 illicit videos taken by an undergraduate, sexual harassment in a Grab ride or alleged mile-high molest – and then move on.

READ: Commentary: Does the ride-hailing industry have a sexual harassment problem?

READ: Commentary: She’s practically asking for it? Do Singaporeans subscribe to rape myths?

We’re not seeing the bigger picture.

Gender inequality forms the bedrock of women’s experiences of life. It starts from the personal, from the time a person is born. It is reinforced by culture, policies, laws and institutions as she moves through the world.

We cannot achieve any societal objectives relating to the challenges facing women – whether in suffering violence, managing reproduction, working or supporting families – without this systemic understanding, this feminist lens.

At AWARE, where we have been advocating for women’s rights for 35 years, we are optimistic this review will be a turning point in our country’s journey to equality.

READ: Commentary: Isolated with your abuser? Why family violence seems to be on the rise during COVID-19 outbreak

We would suggest a sharper focus be placed on three key areas: The uneven share of care responsibilities, gender-based discrimination and harassment at work, and the sexual objectification of women.

THE UNEVEN SHARE OF CARE WORK

Caregiving and housework are everyday tasks that maintain life, both daily and generationally.

These include caring directly for oneself and others, including children and the elderly. It also includes maintaining physical spaces and organising resources as part of the indirect process of care – for example, the tasks of cleaning, cooking and shopping.

All this is mostly unpaid, underappreciated work women have traditionally performed for their families and communities. This traditional expectation is rooted in an antiquated idea that certain traits, such as being nurturing and caring, are somehow innate to women – a persistent myth despite plenty of research overturning its biological basis.

The International Labour Organisation estimates that in Asia Pacific, women spend 4.1 times more time on unpaid caregiving and housework than men.

READ: Commentary: COVID-19 is giving dads more opportunities to be involved at home

READ: Commentary: How do we raise sons who will never hit women?

While no similar time-related data is available for Singapore, other indicators help paint a picture of the nature and effects of caregiving and housework on women.

According to Singapore’s Labour Force Survey 2019, of women outside the labour force, 43 per cent are not working because of caregiving and housework responsibilities.

By contrast, only 0.04 per cent of men are outside the labour force because of caregiving and housework. We also know that women spend a median of nine years outside the labour force providing eldercare.

Caregiving isn’t just exhausting, time-consuming work. It also robs women of their professional incomes without compensating them for their labour.

In order to mitigate the heavy burden of caregiving and housework, many households hire migrant domestic workers. Yet these workers (almost all women) also face their own set of challenges, such as long hours and poor compensation.

The review should take concrete steps to recommend what a gender-equal Singapore would look like for them, as well.

READ: Commentary: Can foreign domestic workers help with chores in homes of close family members?

LISTEN: Can foreign domestic workers do extra chores? The dos, don’ts and difficult areas

GENDER-BASED DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT AT WORK

Between September 2019 and September 2020, AWARE’s Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory received 172 calls, with over 30 per cent concerning some form of discrimination.

Of these, about 80 per cent concerned discrimination against women with maternity and caregiving responsibilities. These women lost job opportunities, were denied promotions and reasonable accommodations, and faced mistrust and suspicion because of their caregiving duties.

The same traditional ideas that push women to take on the lion’s share of caregiving at home seem to also make them less “reliable” to employers.

LISTEN: Women earning less than men: Who bears the burden of change?

This discrimination has serious consequences. Women in Singapore are on average paid 6 per cent less than men for performing the same kind of work. They are also concentrated in low-paying jobs, if they do work instead of providing caregiving fulltime.

Their need to take breaks from the workforce renders them unable to progress as far and as quickly in their careers as men.

Finally, they put less aside for retirement – women on average have 11 per cent less than men in their CPF accounts.

Although the Government has taken steps in the past few years to educate and incentivise employers to act fairly, such as through the promotion of flexible work arrangements, in the absence of legislation that clearly lays out employer duties and responsibilities, many get away with little more than superficial commitments to minimise work-life conflict.

Women are also harassed at work – which the US federal court has interpreted as a form of gender-based discrimination. The last workplace sexual harassment survey in Singapore of 500 respondents conducted by AWARE in 2008 found that over 50 per cent had experienced some form of sexual harassment at work.

More recent surveys, like YouGov’s omnibus research in 2019, suggest that figure remains high, with at least a quarter of women here reporting experiencing some form of sexual harassment.

While the law on sexual assault is clear, the Government has adopted a light touch on workplace harassment, choosing to issue a Tripartite Advisory on Managing Workplace Harassment, rather than specific legislation on workplace harassment.

READ: Commentary: A culture of unwanted advances and the persistence of workplace sexual harassment

READ: Commentary: Maybe bosses shouldn’t try to be funny and make jokes at the office

It is possible for victims of workplace harassment to seek remedies against the harassers under the Prevention from Harassment Act (POHA). However, POHA neither informs the employer of protective and preventative measures it must comply with, nor informs workers of remedies available to them against the employer.

Similarly, the Advisory encourages employers to have workplace harassment and grievance handling policies in place, but it doesn’t hold them legally liable for harassment acts of employees carried out in the course of their employment or for negligence in dealing with complaints of harassment.

Countries such as Australia have introduced the Fair Work Act, which enshrines the principle of workplace equality and sanctions employers for discriminatory practices in law.

Our Government should consider turning Singapore’s Fair Consideration Framework into a Workplace Equality Act, to send a strong signal to employers by laying out their legal liabilities. The Framework currently does not have the weight of law enforcement behind it.

This Act could include reasonable accommodations that employers should be obligated to make for caregivers – including providing them with the right to request flexible work arrangements to balance work and caregiving responsibilities.

Surely Singapore is now on stronger footing to take this bolder step, after more companies have seen firsthand how remote working does not compromise productivity since offices migrated into homes this coronavirus pandemic.

Finally, the Act could also include sections on workplace harassment, to ensure that employers have in place pertinent policies, training and grievance and disciplinary mechanisms.

READ: Commentary: Why saying no can make you indispensable at work

SEXUAL OBJECTIFICATION OF WOMEN

Problematic attitudes that reduce women to objects – tools for the sexual pleasure of others – within Singapore society can be found across all demographics and age groups.

The devaluation of women based on appearance can be damaging. Sexualised portrayals in the media affect girls and women in tangible ways: Many develop eating disorders, self-esteem issues, depression, deep anxiety about their appearances, and feelings of shame.

Of course, sexual objectification is harmful to boys and men, too. It ties their success and attractiveness to dominance, power and aggression, and erodes their own humanity and empathy.

READ: Commentary: All this anger over voyeurism but what we need is respect

READ: Commentary: Terms like ‘lucky boy’ and ‘men will be men’ are problematic double standards

Underreporting of sexual violence is a huge problem, with over seven in 10 clients of AWARE’s Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) not making formal reports. If we are conditioned to see women as sexual tools, no wonder women are reluctant to come forward and seek help after sexual assault.

These survivors assume their complaints will be dismissed or excused by bystanders and authorities alike. They have shared with SACC how their own families and friends reacted to their experiences with disbelief, judgment or victim-blaming comments, finding fault in the survivor’s actions as opposed to focusing on the perpetrator’s.

READ: Commentary: Here’s what zero tolerance towards sexual misconduct looks like

Comprehensive sexuality education that focuses heavily on consent will be essential in fighting sexual objectification and sexual violence in future generations of Singaporeans.

Programmes should be introduced in an age-appropriate manner in schools, and reinforced in colleges and workplaces. Parents should be equipped and encouraged to talk to their children about gender roles, healthy relationships and sexual consent.

Beyond these priorities, we also urge the Government to review past and present policies from an intersectional lens, to analyse their differential impact on not just men and women, but women with disabilities, ethnic minority women, migrant women and more.

Cementing gender equality as a fundamental value has been a long time coming. Let’s not squander the opportunity.

Shailey Hingorani is Head of Research and Advocacy at AWARE.

SINGAPORE: Six suspected drug offenders were arrested and almost S$700,000 worth of drugs were seized by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) in a series of raids on Monday (Sep 21).

Another suspect, a 63-year-old man, died while trying to escape, the bureau said in a news release on Tuesday.

The drugs seized comprised about 5.13kg of heroin, about 1.12kg of Ice, about 13g of new psychoactive substances and 20 Erimin-5 tablets. This can feed the addiction of about 2,440 heroin abusers and about 640 Ice abusers for a week, said CNB.

Officers also recovered S$174,000 in cash.

The raids took place in Sunset Way, Bukit Batok and Tanjong Pagar.

Officers intercepted a vehicle around Sunset Way on Monday afternoon, during which they arrested a 44-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman suspected of drug offences, said CNB.

They found 10 packets containing about 80g of heroin in the vehicle.

The 44-year-old man had met up with another suspect, a 63-year-old man, prior to his arrest, the bureau added.

The latter was believed to have been in a unit around Bukit Batok Street 31. A separate group of CNB officers raided the unit but were refused entry by the occupants despite repeatedly identifying themselves.

“Officers had to effect forced entry into the unit,” CNB said. “However, before officers could gain entry, the 63-year-old man climbed out of the kitchen window and fell from height.”

He was pronounced dead by Singapore Civil Defence Force officers who responded to the scene, CNB added.

A 65-year-old man and a 33-year-old female foreign national in the Bukit Batok unit were subsequently arrested.

Officers found a total of about 4.79kg of heroin, about 1.12kg of Ice, three packets containing 13g of new psychoactive substances and 20 Erimin-5 tablets from the toilet bowl and at various locations in the unit.

Cash worth S$174,000 and drug paraphernalia were also recovered from the unit.

Two more men, aged 62 and 64, were arrested in another follow-up operation at a shophouse unit around Tanjong Pagar Road. A total of 35 packets containing about 260g of heroin and 1g of Ice were seized.

Investigations into the drug activities of the suspects and the death of the 63-year-old man are ongoing.