Also, Quantifeeds’s Series B, Sakay.PH, RHTRA, and another digital money heist

RedDoorz expands into the Philippines – [Press release]

Online budget hotels booking platform RedDoorz has announced its expansion to it’s third market in Southeast Asia, the Philippines – with an investment of more than US$5 million and a projected growth to 100 properties across 12 months.

“Our expansion into the Philippines came as a natural progression for RedDoorz, where like our first market in Indonesia showed many similarities and thus the potential for a vibrant domestic travel and hospitality industry,” said Amit Saberwal, RedDoorz Founder and CEO.

The Philippines ranks second as the fastest growing internet economy in the world with a projected 93 million internet users by 2020. The country’s online travel market also enjoys aggressive growth projections, which RedDoorz aims to capitalise with the introduction of a new category of properties.

RedDoorz Premium are properties that are designed for the budget business traveller and will be available for the Philippine market.

“This introduction of Premium properties came with our observation of how the Filipino concept of a ‘condotel’ had seen a remarkable growth in the Philippines over the past decade,” said Rishabh Singhi, RedDoorz Chief Operating Officer. “The aim of this new category is to target the business traveller who looks for certain amenities like good Wifi connection, location closer to business districts and other amenities.”

Apart from its three categories of properties, RedDoorz will also make it’s loyalty programme available to the Philippine market. RedCash allows app users to earn perks from their stay.

RedDoorz runs a full operations team in Manila. Established in 2015, RedDoorz helps hoteliers and guest house owners to showcase their property over a responsive platform, allowing them to reach out to larger audiences, increase their distribution, earn a brand name and streamline operations.

Bithumb loses $32 million in digital money heist – [Reuters]

South Korea cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb said that 35 billion won (approximately US$32 million) worth of virtual coins were stolen by hackers, according to this report from Reuters. Bithumb is the second local exchange targetted in a span of just over a week.

All trading has been stopped, and Bithumb announced that they would fully compensate customers affected by the heist.

Quantifeed raises US$10M Series B – [TechinAsia]

HongKong-based Quantifeed has raised US$10 million ins Series B funding, according to this report from TechinAsia.

The round was led by Cathay Financial Holdings and participated in by Legg Mason, a US-based asset management firm.

Quantifeed makes wealth management and advisory software and currently operates in five countries. Funding will be used to expand its business and improve research and development.

RHT Holdings and Rockchain.com announce joint venture to support Asia’s booming crypto economy – [Press release]

Professional services group RHT Holdings and crypto fund management company Rockchain.com has announced a joint venture established to support businesses and investors within the crypto economy.

RHT Rockchain Advisory (RHTRA) will be an integrated crypto solutions provider focussing on transparency, integrity, and projects with a sound token-to-market strategy, delivering blockchain, business consultancy and project management for token generating events.

“The partnership presents a win-win opportunity where RHTRA will be built on the combined expertise of RHT Holdings’ compliance, technology and marketing expertise as well as Rockchain’s deep understanding of the Blockchain ecosystem and their technical experience in the Token economy, Distributed Ledger Technology and Digital Asset Management,” said Jayaprakash Jagateesan, Chief Executive Officer of RHT Holdings in a press release.

RHTRA also aims to support its clients with technology, marketing, and other necessary services for
token generating events and for businesses applying blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies in general.

“Our collaboration with RHT Holdings reflects our continued commitment to partnering with best-in-class service providers to deliver the right solutions for our clients,” said Julian Jarvis, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Rockchain. “With this move, RHTRA will be able to deliver world-class DLT and crypto advisory services, backed by experienced local compliance industry professionals for added transparency and integrity.”

Sakay.ph rebrands, launches app – [Press release]

Philippine-based Sakay.ph has launched it’s app that contains up-to-date information for various commuter transportation modes in the country’s capital. Together with the app, Sakay.ph also features a new logo and branding system.

Metro Manila transport is multi-modal, and commuters rely on multiple transport methods to get around. “The team has spent a lot of time researching and double-checking our route data, because we want to make sure people don’t get lost.” said Rodrick Tan, Head of Sakay.ph Data and Research, in a press release. “We use both research and user feedback to make sure the information we serve is a good reflection of what’s happening on the streets.”

Sakay.ph provides free step-by-step commuting directions to and from anywhere in Metro Manila, with trip comparisons by time, number of stops and cost. It boasts of helping over a million users since it launched in 2013.

“Commuters face so many challenges every day,” said Philip Cheang, Head of Sakay.ph Product Development. “While we can’t stop train breakdowns, road closures, and transport strikes from happening, we can at least ease commuting for the riding public by providing relevant information.”

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