
Analyse Asia with Bernard Leong
Bernard Leong
Categories: Business
Listen to the last episode:
"So that was back in 2021. And then after Revolution Precrafted, there was Zilingo in 2022, and then Tanihub and Investree - which were P2P lenders in 2023(24) - and then eFishery. So actually every single year we've been getting pretty big blow ups. But as I was looking at the cases for each of them, one thing I've noticed is the sophistication of the fraud is actually becoming more advanced." - Kristie Neo
Fresh out of the studio, Kristie Neo, an independent journalist covering tech and venture capital, joins us to dissect the rise of startup fraud in Southeast Asia and why it’s becoming more sophisticated. She shares her journey from broadcast journalism to investigative reporting, reflecting on the shift from high-growth hype to market corrections and corporate scandals. Kristie unpacks the eFishery scandal, explaining how founders manipulated financials and how investors got misled. She discusses why due diligence often fails, the role of unchecked valuations, and the impact of drying venture capital on the region’s startup ecosystem. Addressing investor confidence, Kristie explores what it will take to restore trust and accountability in Southeast Asia’s tech scene. Closing the conversation, she shares her vision for a more transparent startup ecosystem and what great looks like for the region’s next wave of entrepreneurs.
Episode Highlights: [00:46] Quote of the Day by Kristie Neo [01:07] The Rise and Fall of Southeast Asian Unicorns [03:53] From Fundraising Frenzy to Market Correction [09:22] Breaking Down the eFishery Scandal [15:25] How Did eFishery Manipulate Its Financials? [19:39] Why Investors Fell for the eFishery Story and Other Similar Ones [22:51] The Evolution of Fraud: From Vanity Metrics to Revenue Manipulation [27:59] Due Diligence & the Role of VCs in Startup Fraud [31:45] How Will This Impact Future VC Investments in Southeast Asia? [32:49] The Need for Legal Consequences for Founders Committing Fraud [38:45] The Secondaries Market and the Liquidity Problem [42:13] Southeast Asia’s Future: Can the Region Build Bold & Ambitious Businesses? [46:23] Closing
Profile: Kristie Neo, Independent Journalist (former DealStreetAsia, CNBC, We Are Social & Channel News Asia) https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristieneo/ and her article: "Thank you eFishery, Southeast Asia is officially off the kool-aid" https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/thank-you-efishery-southeast-asia-officially-off-kool-aid-kristie-neo-h0z0c/
Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast.
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Previous episodes
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508 - The eFishery Scandal and its impact to Southeast Asia with Kristie Neo Sun, 09 Feb 2025 - 0h
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507 - How Agentforce is Transforming Businesses in ASEAN with Sujith Abraham Sun, 02 Feb 2025 - 0h
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506 - Undivided Ventures: AI, Sustainability & Data Centre Technologies with Ariel Shtarkman Sun, 26 Jan 2025 - 0h
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505 - Virtuals Protocol and the intersection of Agentic AI & Web3 with Jansen Teng Tue, 14 Jan 2025 - 0h
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504 - Why Southeast Asia Matters with Gullnaz Baig Wed, 01 Jan 2025 - 0h
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503 - The Transition to Electric Buses: The KMB Experience & Philanthrophy with William Louey Tue, 17 Dec 2024 - 0h
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502 - The China Business Conundrum with Ken Wilcox Tue, 03 Dec 2024 - 0h
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501 - ExtraOrdinary: From Stay-at-Home Mom to Global Entrepreneur with Yvon Bock Tue, 26 Nov 2024 - 0h
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500 - Unlocking the Power of Generative AI in Dow Jones with Ingrid Verschuren Tue, 19 Nov 2024 - 0h
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499 - From Research to Real-World Impact: AI in Action with Sun Sumei Thu, 14 Nov 2024 - 0h
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498 - The e-Conomy Southeast Asia 2024 Report with Sapna Chadha, Fock Wai Hoong & Florian Hoppe Tue, 05 Nov 2024 - 0h
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497 - Data Centres in the Era of AI with Jay Park Tue, 29 Oct 2024 - 0h
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496 - Resetting Expectations on Southeast Asia with Arnaud Bonzom Wed, 23 Oct 2024
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495 - Learnovate, AI and EduTech with Joon Nak Choi Mon, 07 Oct 2024 - 0h
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494 - AI, Creativity and the Human Element with Tan Siok Siok Mon, 23 Sep 2024 - 0h
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493 - Disrupting E-Commerce: How Shein and Temu are Challenging Amazon's Reign with Jing Yang Mon, 12 Aug 2024
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492 - How Netflix bring Asian Content to the Global Audience with Minyoung Kim Tue, 18 Jun 2024 - 0h
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491 - Google & Sustainability in Europe with Adam Elman Thu, 13 Jun 2024 - 0h
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490 - Executive Coaching in the Asia Pacific with Parin Mehta Tue, 04 Jun 2024 - 0h
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489 - Product Management in a Scale-Up with Isaac Tay Mon, 13 May 2024
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488 - Deploy and PropTech in 2024 with Jordan Kostelac Wed, 01 May 2024 - 0h
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487 - Akamai Cloud Computing & The Age of Edge AI with Jay Jenkins Wed, 17 Apr 2024 - 0h
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486 - Saison Capital and Real World Asset Monetization in Crypto with Qin En Looi Tue, 09 Apr 2024 - 0h
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485 - Digital Report 2024 and why Generative AI did not show up this time with Simon Kemp Tue, 02 Apr 2024
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484 - Is TikTok going to be banned in the US? An Asian Perspective with Jing Yang Tue, 26 Mar 2024 - 0h
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483 - Don't Ignore Asia Tech with Catherine Shu Wed, 20 Mar 2024 - 0h
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482 - Will the stocks from China recover & Asian Century Stocks with Michael Fritzell Tue, 27 Feb 2024 - 0h
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481 - How Arta Finance Democratizes Wealth Management with Caesar Sengupta Wed, 14 Feb 2024 - 0h
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480 - BYD vs Tesla: The New EV Empire with Lei Xing Tue, 06 Feb 2024
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479 - AC Ventures & The Indonesia Venture Capital Report 2023 with Adrian Li Tue, 30 Jan 2024 - 0h
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478 - Vertex Ventures & Venture Capital in Southeast Asia & India with Carmen Yuen Wed, 24 Jan 2024
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477 - Yana TV and Change Makers in the Asia Pacific with Yana Fry Tue, 16 Jan 2024 - 0h
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476 - Glints & Human Resources in the Age of AI with Oswald Yeo Tue, 09 Jan 2024 - 0h
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475 - The Power of Play and Future of Work with George Kesselman Tue, 19 Dec 2023 - 0h
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474 - The State of China 2023 with Shai Oster Tue, 12 Dec 2023
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473 - The State of Generative AI and Crypto in 2023 with Kelly Choo Wed, 29 Nov 2023 - 0h
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472 - Undivided VC & Investing in the Built Environment & Sustainability with Alexander Bent Wed, 15 Nov 2023 - 0h
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471 - Decoding the e-Conomy SEA 2023 Report with Sapna Chadha and Florian Hoppe Tue, 07 Nov 2023 - 0h
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470 - Dow Jones & AI in Risk and Compliance with Joel Lange Tue, 31 Oct 2023 - 0h
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469 - The Art of Product Management with Tom Verrilli Tue, 24 Oct 2023 - 0h
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468 - Stripe and the Innovation of Financial Infrastructure in the Asia Pacific with Mike Clayville Tue, 17 Oct 2023 - 0h
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467 - The Global Crypto Adoption Index 2023 & Asia's Rising in Crypto with Kimberly Grauer Tue, 10 Oct 2023 - 0h
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466 - Snowflake & Trends on Data Cloud & AI in the Asia Pacific with Jon Robertson Tue, 03 Oct 2023 - 0h
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465 - Lenovo Solutions and Services Group & the Future of IT Services & AI with Arthur Hu Mon, 25 Sep 2023 - 0h
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464 - Product Evangelism and Canva with Guy Kawasaki Tue, 05 Sep 2023 - 0h
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463 - The Future of Generative AI in Southeast Asia with Ong Peng Tsin Fri, 11 Aug 2023 - 0h
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462 - How SXSW comes to Sydney with Colin Daniels Wed, 02 Aug 2023 - 0h
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461 - The Southeast Asia Investment Landscape with Jeremy Au Tue, 25 Jul 2023 - 0h
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460 - Lombard Odier & Key Trends in Family Offices across the Asia Pacific with Lee Wong Sun, 18 Jun 2023 - 0h
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459 - The New Gatekeepers & Evolution of AI & Web3 with Benedict Evans Sun, 21 May 2023