Hi Phani. Thanks for the comment. I think the Saas model is incredibly challenging with the longtail of MSMEs for now. They're just not tuned into paying, as noted in the story. Intuit and Xero have looked at the region but their lack of action so far speaks volumes, in my opinion.

Jon Russell

I think that's an astute observation, Niraj. Indonesia is quite forward-looking when it comes to working with the private sector, especially startups. I didn't mention in the piece but I suspect there's already a lot of conversations, and I'm quite sure you'll see more formal state-startup work in this area. Has happened with ride-hailing, e-commerce, edtech and more in Indonesia. Thanks for leaving your thoughts.

Jon Russell

Hey Partjiv—the general consensus is Khatabook is a year or so ahead in terms of maturity. That's reflect in the funding at a basic level. Interestingly, neither BukuKas nor BukuWarung ruled out acquisitions but I think that for now they want to see if they can do it on their own with the embedded fintech play. Perhaps they'll get more opportunistic later. Don't forget, also more potential acquisition targets in India than Indonesia... you can only buy what's available. Thanks for the comment.

Jon Russell

Hi Yin Long—you could well be right. That or it is annual revenue. Believe me, I asked the company many times for clarification but they did not provide it. Frustrating for sure.

Jon Russell

It's definitely a topic we'll be writing on, Soham. The challenge right now is that it's very early days and things are evolving on a seemingly weekly, if not daily, basis. But stay tuned!

Jon Russell

Hi Michael—that's exactly it and why we wanted to run a story that shows a different side, a side that isn't often talked about in public. Thanks for taking the time out to read and comment.

Jon Russell

I think you're right, Madhura. It's a shame that Singtel wasn't able to give HOOQ full autonomy, but it would hardly be the first (or last) telco to do so. The interesting battle to watch in Southeast Asia now is Netflix, HBO Go (which arrived recently) and iQiyi from China—as well as Viu. Probably scope for a fresh story in the not-too-distant future.

Jon Russell

Hi Sukanto—Singtel didn't provide full autonomy, at least according to ex staff I spoke to, which seemed to serve to inhibit HOOQ. I'm not sure that's cannibalisation, but the fact it does fully own the telco affiliates that did launch local services competing with HOOQ was a problem. I can't take credit for "Hooq, line and Singtel" — that's our excellent team of editors who often sit in the background and help tweak/enhance our copy. I truly do appreciate them!

Jon Russell

Hi Rahul—good question. HOOQ (and to some extent iflix) really put a focus on local productions, and particularly Indonesia. Some people I talked to positioned Netflix as a little "higher brow" and more Westernised. I think the challenge is mixing content that appeals to a larger audience with the right price point. The market for Western content may be smaller, but you'd suspect that demographic may be more willing to pay (and pay more) based on that taste? It's tricky to say why—the fact iflix (which we've written about too) is struggling too shows it is as much about the local SVOD market as it is those companies.

Jon Russell

Hi Eshwar, we did look at Indonesia also (https://the-ken.com/sea/story/covid-19-pressure-cooks-indonesias-foodtech-and-cloud-kitchens) as it happens with an angle more on the restaurants themselves, so that might be of interest. I'm not really sure that the increase in deliveries is even getting close to making up from the loss from in-restaurant dining, but at this point—and particularly for smaller eateries—it is their livelihood so they have no choice but to do what they can. I'm curious to see how the impact of the proposed support packages from food deliveries companies will help that long tail of restaurants which have less saved up and are therefore in a tougher spot than larger businesses.

Jon Russell

Hi Rahul—I think Thailand is quite unique with four pretty big companies competing hard, I imagine the realistic scenario for improved unit economics is when weaker players drop out or deprioritise. Right now, if anyone did raise prices or make decisions to be more sustainable, you'd imagine others would step up and see an opportunity to burn to win market share. For hygiene, the companies said they provide masks and santiser and teach "best practices"—the kind of responses that you'd expect.

Jon Russell